LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Leader of the House how many written parliamentary questions to the Leader of the House in the 2005-06 Session were not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost.

Jack Straw: In the 2005-06 Session, three written parliamentary questions were not answered on grounds of disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Leader of the House how many written parliamentary questions to him in the 2005-06 Session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation, or similar wording.

Jack Straw: None.

Parliamentary Questions

Mark Francois: To ask the Leader of the House on how many occasions he has circulated round robin guidance to Departments following the tabling of written parliamentary questions in the last 12 months.

Jack Straw: None.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Office in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date.

Jack Straw: In the 2005-06 Session, the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons answered  (a) 188 ordinary written parliamentary questions, 100 per cent. of which were answered within 10 sitting days; and  (b) 71 named day questions, 100 per cent. of which were answered on the specified date.

Political Party Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House what responsibilities he has for political party finance reform.

Jack Straw: My responsibilities for political party reform were set out in the Prime Minister's letter to me of 15 May 2006. They are to lead on the reform of party funding arrangements, taking account of Sir Hayden Phillips' review, with a view to getting new arrangements in place before the next general election.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on advertising with The Guardian newspaper, including online, in the last year for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's spend on advertising in  The Guardian newspaper in the last calendar year was £168,735. This figure includes the cost of inserting the leaflet "Eliminating World Poverty", recruitment advertising and advertorials.

Child Education

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of school-aged children in the world who are not in education.

Gareth Thomas: The primary source of global data on out of school children is the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The 2007 Global Monitoring Report (GMR), launched on 26 October 2006, estimates that there are around 77 million primary-aged children who are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. The GMR helps track progress on the Universal Primary Education Millennium Development Goal to ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
	Given its emphasis on the enrolment statistics of primary-aged children, the GMR does not make a comparable estimate of secondary-aged children out of school. It does, however, estimate a global net enrolment ratio in secondary education of 58 per cent. Net enrolment ratio is enrolment of the official age group for a given level of education, expressed as a percentage of the population in that age group.

Clean Water Access

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is providing to facilitate the creation of public partnership bodies in the water industry in developing countries to improve access to clean water.

Gareth Thomas: In March 2006, the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation announced an action plan which included a call for a global mechanism to promote water operators partnerships. We intend to increase support to various partnership initiatives that support public utilities and we are currently considering how best to do this. We are discussing a number of proposals with potential partners. Previous experience has shown that twinning agreements and capacity-building arrangements in the sector can often be ineffective. Our approach to public partnerships should capitalise on this experience and be based on evidence of what works best. In particular, we want to be sure that any new partnerships are set up with the right incentives in place and do not duplicate or undermine the efforts of other established partnership approaches.
	In addition, DFID has supported the International Benchmarking Network for water and sanitation utilities (IBNET) since 2002. This is an initiative of the multi-donor Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) to compile and share performance indicators in order to help improve efficiency.

Forestry

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries have signed up to Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Partnership Agreements; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The European Union has held preliminary discussions about Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade partnership agreements with a number of countries in Asia and Africa. In late 2006 Malaysia and Ghana announced their intentions to proceed with formal negotiations. Indonesia did so on 8 January of this year and it is anticipated that several more countries will confirm their intention to proceed with negotiations by the summer. The length of negotiations will vary from country to country but we expect the first partnership agreement to be signed by the end of 2007.

Indonesia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the Multistakeholder Forestry Programme in Indonesia since 2000; and what plans there are to extend the programme beyond 2006.

Gareth Thomas: The Multistakeholder Forestry Programme (MFP) has worked with civil society and government organisations to broker new relationships between citizens and the state in relation to forest policy-making. DFID has contributed £25 million to this work since 2000. The programme is transforming forest governance in Indonesia, promoting a citizens' voice and government accountability, and increasing transparency and participation in policy-making, which is having a strong impact on poverty and forest management.
	The programme ended in December 2006. DFID commissioned a series of independent reviews of its outcomes. These showed considerable impact in reducing poverty and conflict, in securing access to state forest lands by local communities, in improving small enterprises, in reducing illegal logging, and in rebuilding trust and effective government in a fragile state. A portrait of the programme was also written by a British journalist and published in a book entitled "Aid That Works", highlighting many human interest stories and how lives have changed by the improvements in forest governance in Indonesia.
	The programme has built a solid platform for taking forward the new DFID White Paper agenda—engaging in governance reforms in difficult environments, working across Whitehall, and addressing climate change. We are now preparing joint work with the FCO in Indonesia to carry forward this agenda, particularly in addressing the international trade in illegal timber, the stabilisation of local land rights to curb deforestation and illegal logging, and to raise the profile of climate change and the huge contribution to greenhouse gas emissions made by deforestation in Indonesia. Initially this will be supported as part of DFID's £24 million global Forest Governance and Trade programme.

Indonesia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding and resources his Department committed to combat illegal logging in Indonesia in each of the last three financial years; how much has been allocated for each of the next three financial years; how much of that funding and resources  (a) was channelled and  (b) will be channelled (i) bilaterally and (ii) multilaterally; and through which multilateral agencies aid (A) has been and (B) will be channelled.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Indonesia on combating illegal logging, and a wider forest governance reform programme, the Multistakeholder Forestry Programme (MFP). As part of the £25 million bilateral MFP, DFID has spent approximately £2 million per year, over the past three years, on research, advocacy, coordination, media communications, training and policy development to combat illegal logging. While the MFP has ended, DFID's bilateral commitment to combating illegal logging continues under a £24 million global programme on Forest Governance and Trade. We expect to spend over £1 million each year over the next three years from this global programme in Indonesia.
	Through its contributions to the EU, DFID is also contributing to a number of EU-funded projects combating illegal logging in Indonesia. The EU-Illegal Logging Response Centre, the EC Tropical Forest Budget Line, and the EU support to the Asia Regional Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) process, have all contributed over £2 million per year, and the new EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Support Project will spend just under £2 million per year over the next three years.
	Through its staff and contributions to the World Bank, DFID has also contributed to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-World Bank partnership against illegal logging in Indonesia, and leveraged US$1 million (2006-07) from a Dutch Trust Fund for a Forest Transparency Initiative. Through its contributions to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), DFID has contributed to the work of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in supporting the Asia Forest Partnership.
	These funds are backed up by the staff whom we have in our Policy Division, the DFID Indonesia country office, and seconded to the European Commission office responsible for global forestry support, as well as the work we do across Whitehall in providing a coherent response to this international problem from DFID, DEFRA and FCO.

Infrastructure Projects

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the amount of UK bilateral aid allocated to infrastructure projects in each year since 1997.

Hilary Benn: Estimated UK bilateral expenditure on infrastructure since 1997 is set out in the following table. These estimates are based on the expenditure allocated to sectors covering infrastructure which include transport and communication, energy, public- private partnerships/privatisation, construction, urban management, shelter and housing, water supply and water and sanitation. Some support to infrastructure, for example, expenditure on education facilities, will be allocated to an education sector, which means the infrastructure element cannot be identified separately and is therefore not included in the following figures.
	
		
			   UK bilateral expenditure on infrastructure (£ million) 
			 1996-97 131.1 
			 1997-98 125.6 
			 1998-99 134.7 
			 1999-2000 122.2 
			 2000-01 113.7 
			 2001-02 142.1 
			 2002-03 121.5 
			 2003-04 182.7 
			 2004-05 148.8 
			 2005-06 169.1

Outstanding Debt

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much debt is owed by  (a) low and (b) lower-middle-income country governments to the UK through (i) the CDC group and (ii) his Department, broken down by country;
	(2)  how much debt relief and cancellation in terms of  (a) flow relief and  (b) stock cancellation has been granted by the Government since 2004 on debts of (i) low and (ii) lower middle income countries owed to (A) the CDC group and (B) his Department, broken down by country.

Hilary Benn: The following table shows the debts currently owed by Low Income and Lower Middle Income Countries to the UK through DFID, as well as debt relief and cancellation in terms of flow relief and stock cancellation for these countries. No debt is owed directly by any government to CDC Group plc, which only lends to commercial organisations. However, some loans by CDC to parastatal and quasi-governmental organisations were guaranteed by their governments. Income to CDC and debt relief on these loans are therefore included in the table.
	Debts owed by countries to the World Bank on loans financed by the UK and other then-EEC donors in the 1970s are listed separately. DFID receives payments on these loans from the World Bank. The loans reverted to bilateral status in 2005 and those to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) are being treated in accordance with the UK's 100 per cent. debt relief policies. All payments by HIPCs to the UK since 2000 on these loans will be returned to them when they complete the HIPC Initiative. The balance of the loans will also be cancelled. Payments returned to HIPCs so far are listed as flow relief since 2004, with loans cancelled recorded as stock cancellation. DFID is in the process of returning payments and cancelling our share of these loans to Malawi and Sierra Leone, which recently completed the HIPC Initiative. We are also in the process of returning payments received from Mauritania.
	
		
			  Debts owed and debt relief given to Low Income and Lower Middle Income Countries 
			  £000 
			   Debt owed  Debt relief 
			 World Bank Loans with DFID as a creditor  Flow relief 2003-04 to 2005-06  Stock cancellation 2003-04 to 2005-06  Reimbursements since 2004 on World Bank loans with DFID as a creditor  Stock cancellation since 2004 on World Bank loans with DFID as a creditor 
			  Country  CDC ( 3) DFID   CDC ( 3) DFID  CDC ( 3) DFID   
			  Low Income Countries( 1)  
			 Bangladesh — — 4,701 — — — — — — 
			 Benin(1) — — — — — — — 64 304 
			 Burkina Faso(1) — — — — — — — 168 813 
			 Burundi(2) — — 121 — — — — — — 
			 Cameroon(1) — — — 2,574 — — — — — 
			 Central Africa N. Rep.(2) — — 49 — — — — — — 
			 Comoros(2) — — 71 — — — — — — 
			 Congo, Dem. Rep.(2) — — 1,568 — — — — — — 
			 Congo, Rep.(2) — — 489 — — — — — — 
			 Cote D'Ivoire(2) 12,976 (1)567 — — — — 663 — — 
			 Ethiopia(1) — — — — — — — 204 1,062 
			 Gambia(2) — — 167 — — — — — — 
			 Ghana(1) — — — 4506 1,632 9,050 1,104 121 630 
			 Guinea(2) — — 381 — — — — — — 
			 Guinea-Bissau(2) — — 96 — — — — — — 
			 Haiti(2) — — 592 — — — — — — 
			 India — — 4,913 — — — — — — 
			 Kenya 292 — 1,450 — — — — — — 
			 Laos — — 274 — — — — — — 
			 Lesotho — — 217 — — — — — — 
			 Liberia(2) — — 134 — — — — — — 
			 Madagascar(1) — — — — — — — 203 1,057 
			 Malawi(1) — — — 2,886 — — — — 754 
			 Mali(1) — — — — — — — 211 1,019 
			 Mauritania(1) — — — — — — — — 152 
			 Mozambique(1) — — — — — — 68 — — 
			 Myanmar — — 1,062 — — — — — — 
			 Nepal(2) — — 1,105 — — — — — — 
			 Nicaragua(1) — — — — — — 3 — — 
			 Niger(1) — — — — — — — 38 205 
			 Nigeria — — — — — — 5,000 — — 
			 Pakistan — — 5,672 — — 23,139 — — — 
			 Rwanda(1) — — — — — — — 34 175 
			 Senegal(1) — — — — — — 49 87 413 
			 Sierra Leone(2) — — 293 — — — — — — 
			 Somalia(2) — — 151 — — — — — — 
			 Sudan(2) — — 1,093 — — — — — — 
			 Tanzania(1) — — — — — — — 524 2,302 
			 Togo(2) — — 665 — — — — — — 
			 Uganda(1) — — — — — — — 455 2017 
			 Yemen — — 1,102 — — — — — — 
			 Zambia(1) — — — — 1,154 — 2,154 99 526 
			 Zimbabwe 10,144 8,544 — — — — — — — 
			 Total for low income countries 23,412 9,111 26,276 9,966 2,786 32,189 4,041 2,208 11,429 
			   
			  Lower middle income countries  
			 Colombia — 6
			 Ecuador — 8,067
			 Egypt — (3)112 3,542 — — — 1,218 — — 
			 Guyana(1) — — — — — — 12,106 59 306 
			 Honduras(1) — — — 2,519 186 15,371 93 — — 
			 Indonesia 16,622 — 553 — — — — — — 
			 Jamaica 5,906 (3)13,472 — — — 5,864 9,257 — — 
			 Jordon — (3)7,072 — — — — 5,716 — — 
			 Peru — (3)2,958 — — — — 1,550 — — 
			 Philippines — 483 — — — — — — — 
			 Samoa — — 29 — — — — — — 
			 Solomon Islands — — — — — — 734 — — 
			 Sri Lanka — — 873 — — — — — — 
			 Total for Lower Middle Income countries 22,528 32,170 4,997 2,519 186 21,235 30,674 59 306 
			 (1 )Countries completed the HIPC Initiative and received 100 per cent. debt cancellation from the UK. (2) Countries progressing through HIPC and will receive 100 per cent. debt cancellation when they reach HIPC Completion Point. Those that have passed Decision Point of the HIPC Initiative receive 100 per cent. flow relief (they make no debt service payments). (3) Debt relief has been given on these debts under Retrospective Term Adjustment (RTA) and the Commonwealth Development Initiative (GDI)-payments are cancelled each year as they become due and the countries are not billed.

Outstanding Debt

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been received by the Government from  (a) low and  (b) lower middle income countries on debts owed to (i) the CDC group and (ii) his Department in 2005-06; and how much is expected to be received in each category in 2006-07.

Hilary Benn: No debt is owed directly by any government to CDC Group plc, which only lends to commercial organisations. Some loans by CDC to parastatal and quasi-governmental organisations were guaranteed by their governments, and income to CDC from these loans is recorded in the table. The only income received directly by DFID from a Low Income Country (LIC) in 2005-06 came from Zimbabwe, which has not met the standards of accountability, public financial management and commitment to poverty reduction needed to qualify for debt relief from the UK. No payments are expected from LICs in 2006-07.
	Income to the Government from debts owed to DFID and CDC in 2005-06 and expected in 2006-07 is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Received in 2005-06  Expected in 2006-07 
			   DFID  CDC  DFID  CDC 
			 Low Income Countries 89 28 0 30 
			 Lower Middle Income Countries 3,298 191 1,117 1,985 
		
	
	In addition, £1.852 million was received by DFID in 2005-06, and £1.883 million is expected in 2006-07 from repayments by countries to the World Bank on loans that were originally funded by the UK and other then EEC creditors in the 1970s. The bulk of these loans were to Low Income Countries. Debts held by Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) are cancelled in full when they reach HIPC Completion Point, with any payments made to the UK since 2000 returned to them. The UK is not currently able to provide debt relief on our share of the loans to non-HIPC Low Income Countries as this requires the agreement of all eight creditors. We are continuing discussions and hope to be able to offer debt relief on these loans soon.

Somalia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to support the United Nations World Food Programme in Somalia to ensure that food reaches  (a) Wajid,  (b) lower Shabelle and  (c) the Middle and Lower Juba regions; and what representations is he making on the resumption of the use of airdrops and helicopters in Somalia.

Hilary Benn: The UK is a major supporter of the World Food Programme (WFP) globally and in Somalia. WFP plans to distribute 114,000mt (metric tonnes) of food aid in Somalia this year, and a significant proportion of this will be in the worst affected areas in southern and central Somalia, such as Middle and Lower Juba. The UK is the second largest contributor after the US to the World Food Programme's protracted Relief and Recovery Operation 10191, which runs to 31 March 2007, with US$11.4 million.
	WFP is currently preparing a food aid convoy from Mogadishu to Wajid. A distribution in Middle Shabelle was planned just before the recent fighting, but it remains stalled because of lack of clarity over the security situation in that region. In Middle and Lower Juba there has been some limited food aid distribution in Bualle. There are 1000mt on trucks at Afmadow in Lower Juba, which it is planned will be distributed soon. WFP also has teams in Wajid on standby for a return to Kismayo.
	The recent conflict caused restrictions on access to Somalia for relief workers and supplies. However, for most agencies, including WFP, it is proving possible to resume operations, although there have been some problems related to the re-emergence of local militias. The UK continues to take all opportunities to press the authorities on the ground to allow for the re-establishment of humanitarian relief operations in all areas, including the deliveries of WFP food aid and the use of helicopters and aircraft. Much of this operation is funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund to which the UK is the largest single contributor. WFP has adequate supplies for the next five to six months for Somalia.

Somalia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of the additional resources provided by the United States to Somalia on the situation in that country; and what steps his Department is taking to support development and peace-keeping efforts in Somalia.

Hilary Benn: I understand that the additional funds pledged by the US for Somalia at the International Contact Group meeting in Nairobi on 5 January— intended for humanitarian, capacity-building support and to help finance the proposed international peace support mission in Somalia—have yet to start disbursement.
	DFID's programme has increased significantly, to a planned budget of £15.5 million in 2006-07 which is set to rise further to £21 million in 2007-08. Within these amounts we are providing significant amounts of humanitarian relief, assistance to building up the capacity of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), and support to education and other services to the poor.
	In recognition of the changing political situation on the ground, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is in the process of preparing a short-term response plan, which will include proposals for support to the TFIs in the coming critical weeks. This is likely to cover proposals for:
	supporting the relocation of the TFIs to Mogadishu;
	rehabilitation of government buildings in Mogadishu;
	immediate technical assistance requirements;
	a process for the re-establishment of regional and local authorities; and
	revenue raising.
	DFID will examine the response plan, once available, and work towards a joint approach to it with the EC and other donors.
	We are also examining urgently, with donor partners, how existing donor support to restoring effective policing in parts of Somalia can be extended to southern and central Somalia. This support is being channelled primarily through the UNDP's Rule of Law and Security programme (RoLS), which has been supporting police strengthening in Somaliland, Puntland and Baidoa. The programme has already established police training centres in Armo and Baidoa.

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions in the last five years the publication date of statistics produced by his Department has been changed; what the  (a) subject of the statistics,  (b) (i) original and (ii) final date of publication and  (c) reason for the delay was in each case; and who took the decision to delay the publication in each case.

Hilary Benn: In accordance with the National Statistics Code of Practice (2002), the Head of Profession for Statistics in the Department for International Development has sole responsibility for determining, pre-announcing and, if necessary, altering the dates of publication of 'National Statistics' and other relevant statistics produced by the Department.
	Any decision to change a pre-announced publication date will be based on a range of professional considerations such as the completeness of the underlying data, their fitness for purpose, the need for consistency and coherence, the need to promote widespread access and informed debate, or any earlier accidental or wrongful release. In reaching their decision, the Head of Profession will also take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the 'National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices'. The code and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library of the House, and can also be accessed using the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp
	There have been no occasions in the last five years when the Head of Profession has changed a pre-announced publication date.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will reform the constitutional composition of the House of Lords to include formal representation from members of British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

Jack Straw: I have been asked to reply 
	as I have ministerial responsibility for House of Lords reform.
	The Government have no plans to introduce measures to include any formal representation of the Overseas Territories or Crown Dependencies in the House of Lords.

Catering Facilities

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will discontinue its policy of not releasing details of bookings made by individual hon. Members of catering facilities.

Nick Harvey: It has not been the practice of the House to release details of bookings made by individual hon. Members of catering facilities, whether made for private functions or on behalf of internal or external organisations. The Commission has no plans to change this practice while a complaint relating to this subject is being considered by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

Catering Facilities

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many dinner menus have been printed by the Refreshment Department for hon. Members' private dinners in the last 12 months; and how many copies of such menus have been kept by the Refreshment Department.

Nick Harvey: The Refreshment Department has ordered printed menu cards on behalf of hon. Members for 106 private lunch and dinner events in 2006. No copies are retained by the Refreshment Department.

TRANSPORT

Airspace

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications for British national sovereignty arising from the EU proposal to treat all airspace above 25,000 feet over the EU as European airspace.

Gillian Merron: The EC initiative to establish a European Upper Flight Information Region encompassing all airspace above 28,500 feet is without prejudice to UK national sovereignty over its airspace.

Cycle Spaces

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of supplying 2,900 extra cycling spaces at stations, as referred to on page 132 of his Department's annual report 2006.

Tom Harris: The total cost of this project delivered on behalf of the Department by the former Strategic Rail Authority was £309,240.00. The final count of extra parking spaces provided for cyclists was around 2,500.

DVLA

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many names and addresses of drivers the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency sold to non-governmental organisations in each of the last 12 months.

Stephen Ladyman: Information held on DVLA driver record is not released or sold without the consent of the individual.
	DVLA does not sell vehicle keeper information. Information may be released where the law allows it. Regulations permit a fee to be levied to cover the cost of processing requests but prohibit any profit from being made.
	The number of requests processed each month for the last year are as follows.
	
		
			   Number 
			 January 2006 123,349 
			 February 2006 121,757 
			 March 2006 135,349 
			 April 2006 97,449 
			 May 2006 118,931 
			 June 2006 116,456 
			 July 2006 119,338 
			 August 2006 124,467 
			 September 2006 106,117 
			 October 2006 121,725 
			 November 2006 107,384 
			 December 2006 77,099

Electric Vehicles: Safety

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulations govern the use of disabled person's mobility scooters; and what recent representations he has received on the use of mobility scooters.

Gillian Merron: The use of mobility scooters is governed by the "Use of Invalid Carriages on Highways Regulations 1988", statutory instrument 1988 No.2268.
	Representations have been received from stakeholders on general use, but the vast majority were seeking advice on registration of their vehicles. As registration is the responsibility of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, such representations have been passed to it for advice and guidance.

Government Car Agency

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether individual Departments are re-billed for the cost of their ministerial cars by the Government Car Agency.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. Its framework document requires the agency to recover all its costs, including the cost of providing ministerial transport, through charges to its customers. Charges for ministerial transport are made to each Government Department where GCDA provides this service.

Highways Agency

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effects on costs does he expect as a result of the reorganisation of the Major Projects Division of the Highways Agency.

Stephen Ladyman: There will be no immediate effect on costs as a result of the reorganisation of the Major Projects Directorate of the Highways Agency.
	The Highways Agency has redeployed resources within existing staff budgets and numbers to make more effective use of its staff and provide new skills to meet changing business needs.

Light Dues System

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he last met Irish Ministers to discuss the renegotiation of the 1985 Agreement on the funding arrangements for the Commissioners of Irish Lights; when he expects these negotiations to reach a conclusion; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on progress on abolishing the Irish subsidy component of the light dues system.

Stephen Ladyman: On 27 July 2005, I discussed the 1985 Agreement with the Irish Marine Minister, who agreed to support a more equitable funding solution for the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL).
	Consideration of the Irish Government's role in part-funding CIL operations needs to reflect the increased reliance in the past year on joint support services for the three General Lighthouse Authorities, such as the fleet of ships, now reduced in size. A bilateral, official-level meeting this month will assess the scope for progress in the light of that trend, and take account of possible impacts on the institutional framework arising from the St. Andrews Agreement.

Liverpool: Transport Links

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of road and rail links to the port of Liverpool.

Stephen Ladyman: The existing trunk road access to the port of Liverpool at Seaforth is provided by the A5036. A study undertaken by the Highways Agency has concluded that journey times on the existing A5036 are not reliable and that this position will get progressively worse over time.
	The North West Regional Planning Assessment (RPA) for the railway and the Network Rail route utilisation strategies for the North West and Freight assess the current provision and likely future needs for freight on the railways, including the Port of Liverpool. The North West RPA was published in October 2006 and consultation drafts of both route utilisation strategies have been issued.
	However, even taking into account the potential of rail, the Highways Agency believe that the existing road network would be inadequate to cater for the expected growth of the port. It is now developing options for improving road access to the port. It is envisaged that any scheme identified will be funded from the regional funding allocation.

M1 Closure

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the incident which caused the closure of part of the M1 on Christmas Day.

Stephen Ladyman: Sections of the M1 were closed on Christmas Day due to two serious incidents. The first incident closed the M1 in both directions between Junction 29 and 30 in Derbyshire at approx 15.10hrs. The incident involved a man threatening to jump onto the motorway from an overbridge and it was necessary to close the motorway to ensure the safety of the individual and motorists. There were no casualties and the M1 re-opened at 18.00hrs.
	The second incident closed the M1 northbound near Junction 38 in South Yorkshire at approx 18.15hrs. This incident involved a vehicle hitting a hard shoulder barrier, rolling and coming to rest at the central reserve barrier, resulting in a fatality. The M1 re-opened at 22.50hrs following a police investigation.

M3

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what  (a) resurfacing and  (b) noise reduction works are planned to be undertaken between junctions 5 and 7 of the M3 motorway; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the Highway Agency plans to undertake noise reduction works of each lane of the M3 between junctions 5 and 7; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency resurfaced lane 1 Northbound of the M3 between junctions 5 and 6 with quieter surfacing in September 2001. It has a scheme within its current four year maintenance programme to resurface the remaining lanes of both carriageways in two phases between 2008 and 2010. A quieter surface will be used for this as a matter of course.
	The road between junctions 6 and 7 is in a safe and serviceable condition and therefore there are no current plans for its resurfacing.
	Noise reduction works, consisting of the construction of a 300 m acoustic barrier, are planned for the financial year 2007-08 for the northbound carriageway of the M3 between junctions 5 and 6 at Hatch.

M6

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regard he will have to the Visioning and Backcasting for UK Transport Policy report published in 2005 in relation to his decision making for the M6 widening proposals between junctions 11A and 19, with particular reference to the policies that will be necessary to meet the Government's targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Stephen Ladyman: The Visioning and Backcasting for UK Transport Policy (VIBAT) study examined a range of policy measures (technological and behavioural) and assessed how they could be effectively combined to achieve a reduction in emissions.
	Whilst this study highlighted a potential range of options available for addressing carbon emissions from transport, it was intended to test a research methodology and to stimulate thinking, not to define Government policy. Its partial analysis did not consider either the costs of measures proposed nor the most cost-effective and practical savings across the whole of the economy. However, many of the policies identified in the report were considered as part of the Climate Change Programme Review, some of which are now being taken forward, such as the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation.
	The proposed M6 widening scheme will be assessed—as with all major transport schemes—using the Department's New Approach to Appraisal and Value for Money guidance. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 735W.

Motorcycles

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what traffic calming measures are available to tackle speeding by motorcycle traffic.

Stephen Ladyman: Traffic calming measures will have an effect on motorcycle traffic directly and also indirectly as a result of slowing the speed of the general flow of traffic, including motorcycles. Full-width road humps are likely to be the most effective in slowing motorcycles directly. I recognise that speed cushions and chicanes may be less effective in slowing motorcycles. It is for the relevant highway authority to determine the most appropriate form of traffic calming depending on local circumstances.

Motorcycles

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on road safety of permitting 16-year-olds to drive 50 cc motorcycles;
	(2)  if he will assess the merits of raising the age at which 50 cc motorcycles can be driven on the road to that for other motorised vehicles;
	(3)  how many accidents there have been in each of the last five years involving 16-year-olds driving 50 cc motorcycles.

Stephen Ladyman: 16-year-olds are entitled to ride mopeds, which have an engine capacity of under 50 cc and are limited to a maximum speed of around 50 mph. Anyone wanting to ride a moped, even with a provisional licence, must first of all successfully complete a Compulsory Basic Training course. This is a legal requirement, which is designed to provide riders with the necessary skills before riding unaccompanied on the road. In this way, those who need independence and mobility at a younger age are given the opportunity to gain it.
	The number of personal injury road accidents reported to the police, in each of the last five years, involving a 16-year-old rider on a motorcycle of 50 cc and under (whether or not the rider was themselves injured) are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 1,698 
			 2002 1,798 
			 2003 1,876 
			 2004 1,997 
			 2005 1,953 
		
	
	In 2005, 1,882 16-year-old riders of mopeds were injured in road accidents, of whom four were killed and 318 were seriously injured. A further 38 pillion passengers of 16-year-old moped riders were injured, of whom none was killed and five were seriously injured. In addition, another 71 road users were injured in accidents involving 16-year-old moped riders, of whom none was killed and 12 were seriously injured.
	Accidents involving 16-year-old moped riders accounted for 8 per cent. of all accidents involving motorcycles and 8 per cent. of all casualties to motorcycle riders and passengers but only accounted for less than 1 per cent. of fatal accidents and casualties. We have not made any other assessment of the impact on road safety of permitting 16-year-olds to drive mopeds.
	We have no plans to consider raising the minimum age for riding a moped. Moped riders of all ages will benefit from the range of measures for improving the safety of all motorcycle users, as set out in "The Government's Motorcycling Strategy".
	In addition, last year the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) produced a DVD on moped safety "Get the Message: Act Your Age", which is aimed at young moped riders. Manufacturers provide a free copy with all new mopeds. It has also been distributed to all secondary schools and local authority road safety officers, as part of MCIA's educational resource "Links: connecting citizenship and Road User Education".

National Ports Council: Pension Scheme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the National Ports Council pension scheme.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department is looking to wind up the National Ports Council pension scheme as soon as possible given the intention of the Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee (OSPT) to withdraw as administrator in March this year. We are pursuing options, in close consultation with the Trustees, in a way which will safeguard the scheme members' interests.

Network Rail: Debts

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total levels of Network Rail's debt guaranteed by the Government are; what the annual interest charge on that debt is; and what proportion of that debt has been repaid in the past 12 months.

Tom Harris: The credit support arrangements for Network Rail's Medium Term Note programme are capped at £10 billion principal, while the unused long-term contingency buffer is capped at £4 billion principal. There is no similar limit on the financial indemnity to support Network Rail's Debt Issuance Programme (DIP). However, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has included in Network Rail's licence a condition that limits NR's borrowing under the DIP to 90 per cent. of its regulatory asset base (RAB). If DIP debt reaches 85 per cent. of the RAB, Network Rail have to provide ORR with an action plan of how to reduce debt below this level. The most recent public reporting of this ratio was contained in the ORR's "Q2 06-07 Network Rail Monitor", published on 13 November 2006, in which NR's total debt was reported as being equal to 74.6 per cent. of the RAB. This, and a number of other controls, limit the Secretary of State's exposure under the financial indemnity.
	Network Rail's interim financial statements for the six months ended 30 September 2006 reported the company's net debt as £17.929 billion, compared with £16.750 billion at 30 September 2005.
	Network Rail advises that the information requested on the annual interest charge on the net debt is not readily available. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to this part of his question.
	John Armitt
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Operating Licences

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what account is taken of whether a company is trading on green belt land when the traffic commissioners consider its application for renewal of its operating licence;
	(2)  in what circumstances the traffic commissioners can refuse to renew an operating licence.

Stephen Ladyman: Goods vehicle operator licences are continuous but traffic commissioners review individual operating centres every five years. At these reviews, traffic commissioners consider the continued suitability of the operating centre and take account of any representations made by persons who own or occupy land in the vicinity of the centre within the preceding five-year period.
	Following a review, a traffic commissioner may impose conditions relating to the use of a centre, vary existing conditions or direct that a centre may no longer be used. Failure to comply with a condition may lead to revocation of the licence.

Parking Regimes

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has held with local authorities about the timetable for introducing new parking regulations by October 2007; what estimate he has made of the costs to local authorities of the purchase of new hardware and software to prepare for the changeover; and what targets he has set for replying to parking authorities who submit queries on the new traffic management arrangements.

Gillian Merron: The timetable has been discussed with the group advising the Department, which includes representatives from local authorities and the local authority associations, and it is on their advice that there is a long period of time between the regulations completing their passage through Parliament and coming into force in late 2007. The Department's draft regulatory impact assessment, as amended following consultation in July 2006, makes clear that there may be some up-front costs for the transition from decriminalised (DPE) to civil parking enforcement (CPE). These costs include training and IT costs. The amount will depend on the contract that the local authority has with its IT supplier. The Department's target for replying to letters is 15 working days for those from MPs and 20 working days for those from other correspondents.

Parking Regimes

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable has been agreed for the establishment of a transitional regime for local authorities to migrate their existing parking regulations from the Road Traffic Acts to the Traffic Management Act 2004; what template has been established to enable local authorities to issue identical parking documents; and what consultation he has held with local authorities on the proposed changes in their parking procedures.

Gillian Merron: The Department consulted a range of groups and individuals, including local authorities, in July 2006 about draft regulations and statutory guidance to implement the parking provisions in part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. The responses to that consultation are under consideration and we plan to lay the regulations in Parliament early this year and bring them into force in late 2007. The regulations and guidance will make clear to local authorities the information that their parking documents must contain and the information that the Secretary of State recommends they contain.

Passenger Transport Authorities

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1269W, on passenger transport authorities, if he will provide the details of each of the applications he is considering.

Gillian Merron: 60 appeals were lodged with the Secretary of State against the reimbursement arrangements set up by the travel concession authority in respect of concessionary travel schemes introduced on 1 April 2006. Determinations have been made for 16 of these, and 15 appeals were withdrawn. Subsequently, a further three appeals have been made following variations to local schemes during the 2006-07 financial year.
	It would not be appropriate to give full details of each of the applications while they are under consideration. However, for those where a decision is pending, a list of the schemes appealed against, and the applicants for each, are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Scheme  Operator 
			 Bristol area Diamond Travelcard Scheme First Bristol jointly with First Somerset and Avon 
			 Centra Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) Birmingham Coach Company 
			 Centra PTE Midland Red South 
			 Centra PTE West Midlands Travel 
			 Devon Countywide First Devon and Cornwall 
			 Devon Countywide Stagecoach Devon 
			 Dorset Countywide Stagecoach Devon 
			 East Sussex (Sussex Countywide) Stagecoach South 
			 Greater Manchester PTE First Manchester 
			 Greater Manchester PTE GM Buses Ltd 
			 Greater Manchester PTE Green Triangle Buses 
			 Greater Manchester PTE Stagecoach Manchester 
			 Greater Manchester PTE Stagecoach North West 
			 Greater Manchester PTE Vales Coaches 
			 Gloucestershire Countywide Red and White Services Ltd 
			 Gloucestershire Countywide Stagecoach West 
			 Hampshire Countywide First Hampshire and Dorset 
			 Hampshire Countywide Wilts and Dorset Bus 
			 Harrogate (for York UA) First York 
			 Merseytravel First PMT 
			 Norfolk Countywide Anglian Bus 
			 Norfolk Countywide First Eastern Counties 
			 Norfolk Countywide Norfolk Green 
			 Redditch Borough First Midland Red 
			 Suffolk Countywide Anglian Bus 
			 Suffolk Countywide First Eastern Counties 
			 South Yorkshire PTE First South Yorkshire 
			 South Yorkshire PTE Yorkshire Traction with Yorkshire Terrier and Barnsley and District 
			 West Yorkshire PTE First West Yorkshire jointly with First Manchester and First South Yorkshire 
			   
			  Appeals from October 2006 (deferred pending further local negotiations)  
			 Oxford City Council Oxford Bus Company 
			 Oxford City Council Stagecoach in Oxfordshire 
			   
			  Appeals from January 2007 (the validity of this appeal is being assessed)  
			 Bristol area Diamond Travelcard Scheme First Bristol Ltd jointly with First Somerset and Avon Ltd

Permit Regulations

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will bring forward secondary legislation on permit regulations under the Traffic Management Act 2004.

Gillian Merron: Secondary legislation on permit regulations under the Traffic Management Act 2004 is planned to come into force in late 2007.

Railway Stations

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital spending Network Rail has allocated to each of its mainline stations over the past 10 years; and what its plans are for future such spending in each station.

Tom Harris: These are operational matters for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to her question.
	John Armitt
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London
	NW1 2EE

Railway Stations

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Network Rail's proposals for development at Lime Street station, Liverpool.

Tom Harris: The development work at Liverpool Lime Street station is a high priority in the Liverpool City Region Development Plan (LCDP) and is being carried out by Network Rail, Merseytravel, Liverpool Vision and Liverpool city council. This development work at the station has been specified by these parties and it is their responsibility.

Road Accidents

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents were caused by drivers failing to use headlights when road and weather conditions required their use in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: In 2005, there were 133 personal injury road accidents where a contributory factor reported by the attending police officer was a driver 'not displaying lights at night or in poor visibility'. Data prior to 2005 are not available.

Road Congestion

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce congestion on the roads serving  (a) Nottingham East Midlands and  (b) Birmingham airports.

Stephen Ladyman: Schemes to reduce congestion on roads serving Nottingham East Midlands and Birmingham International Airports are as follows:
	 (a) Nottingham East Midlands Airport
	The Highways Agency has two schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements adjacent to Nottingham East Midlands Airport.
	The widening of the M1 to four lanes between Junctions 21 and 30 is currently planned for the period 2007 to 2014-15. The section between Junctions 21 and 25, adjacent to the airport, together with the improvement of Junctions 23A, 24 and 24A and construction of the A6 Kegworth Bypass, is currently planned for the period 2010 to 2014-15.
	The widening of the A453 between M1 Junction 24 and the A52 at Nottingham is currently planned for 2008-09, with completion in 2011-12. The A453 proposals would assist in the provision of reliable access between the proposed Parkway railway station and the Airport.
	 (b) Birmingham International Airport
	Active Traffic Management (ATM) with hard shoulder running was implemented on M42 Junctions 3A-7 on 12 September 2006. The full widening of this section of motorway will be considered following an assessment of the impact of the ATM pilot project. The Highways Agency expects this work to be completed in 2008. One of the factors to be taken into account in this assessment will be the need to provide adequate strategic access to cater for any future expansion of Birmingham International Airport.

Roads

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the Highways Agency's  (a) capital and  (b) revenue budget was spent on roads which fall completely within (i) the boundary of a single local authority and (ii) the boundary of a single regional development agency in each year from 2001-02 to 2005-06.

Stephen Ladyman: The reporting systems of the Highways Agency do not provide information on a local authority or regional basis.

Roads

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new roads were built in Essex in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Roads can be built by the Highways Agency, the local transport authority (Essex county council), or private developers; the Secretary of State does not have access to a complete or central record. The following information is sourced from "Essex Traffic Monitoring Report 2005", published by Essex county council in April 2006, and includes significant schemes built both by the authority and the Highways Agency.
	
		
			  Date  Route  Location 
			 January 2002 A130 Northern Section (A12-A132) 
			 July 2002 A136 Parkeston Bypass Stage 2 
			 September 2002 A131 Great Leighs Bypass 
			 December 2002 M11 Stansted Slip Roads 
			 February 2003 A130 Southern Section (A132-A127) 
			 June 2003 A134 Northern Approach, Colchester 
			 December 2003 A120 M11-Dunmow West 
			 July 2004 A120 Dunmow West-Braintree 
			  Notes: 1. 2005—no significant routes opened. 2. 2006—data unavailable.

Roadworks

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on overstay charges for utility companies in relation to works undertaken on minor roads.

Gillian Merron: The Government have recently consulted on proposed changes to the level and structure of charges for unreasonably prolonged occupation of the highway by statutory undertakers, including those for works on minor roads. The results are currently being analysed.

Roadworks

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has undertaken with local authorities on future fee levels for permit schemes for streetworks; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In developing the proposals for future fee levels for permit schemes, a series of workshops were held with representatives from local highway authorities during summer 2006. Discussions were also held with representatives from utility companies. A twelve-week consultation on this issue and other proposals for permit schemes is currently taking place, with responses invited by 26 February 2007.

Royal National Lifeboat Institute

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute arising out of  (a) health and safety,  (b) working time and  (c) equal rights legislation since May 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) is an independent, charitable organisation that does not operate under the sponsorship of the Department for Transport, therefore, I am not in a position to make an estimate of the RNLI's costs.

Safety Cameras

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fixed speed cameras there are in each local authority area in England and Wales.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not hold this information at a local authority level. The information is held for each of the 38 Safety Camera Partnership areas and this is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Partnership  Total number of fixed speed cameras 
			 Avon and Somerset 67 
			 Bedfordshire 44 
			 Cambridgeshire 57 
			 Cheshire 45 
			 Cleveland 3 
			 Cumbria 4 
			 Derbyshire 47 
			 Devon and Cornwall 75 
			 Dorset 51 
			 Essex 82 
			 Gloucestershire 27 
			 Greater Manchester 124 
			 Hampshire 31 
			 Hertfordshire 56 
			 Humberside 5 
			 Kent and Medway 73 
			 Lancashire 274 
			 Leicestershire 17 
			 Lincolnshire 45 
			 London 436 
			 Merseyside 31 
			 Mid and South Wales 113 
			 Norfolk 32 
			 North Wales 15 
			 Northamptonshire 42 
			 Northumbria 43 
			 Nottinghamshire 31 
			 South Yorkshire 56 
			 Staffordshire 65 
			 Suffolk 8 
			 Surrey 19 
			 Sussex 52 
			 Thames Valley 216 
			 Warwickshire 21 
			 West Mercia 20 
			 West Midlands 139 
			 West Yorkshire 55 
			 Wiltshire 12 
			 Total 2,522

Severn Bridge

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the Severn Bridge Toll Company to facilitate the introduction of credit and debit card payment for toll crossings on the Severn Bridge crossings.

Stephen Ladyman: The issue of card payments is reviewed regularly by the Highways Agency, the Concessionaire (Severn River Crossing plc) and the Government's representative.
	The last discussions were held on the 22 November 2006, at the quarterly review meeting for the concession. The Government's representative provided a summary briefing to the Highways Agency on 27 November. No decisions have been taken.

Speed Cameras

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much revenue was generated from fines resulting from speed camera convictions in Cambridgeshire in the latest year for which figures are available; and what sums were passed to  (a) the Consolidated Fund and  (b) the Cambridgeshire Safety Camera Partnership.

Stephen Ladyman: The audit certificate for the Cambridgeshire Safety Camera Partnership for the financial year shows that fines from the conditional offer of fixed penalties for offences detected by speed cameras during 2004-05 was £1,196,460. The amount returned to the partnership to improve road safety within the Cambridgeshire area for the same period via the netting-off process was £1,021,261 (85.4 percent).
	In accordance with the handbook of rules and guidance for the national safety camera programme the surplus of £175,199 is retained by the consolidated fund.
	The audit certificates for 2005-06 will be available on the DfT website very shortly.
	The 'netting-off' funding arrangement for safety cameras is being ended after 2006-07 and from 2007-08 safety cameras and their funding are to be integrated into the Local Transport Plan system (in England outside London) alongside other road safety measures.
	This will give greater flexibility to local authorities, the police and the other agencies to pursue whichever locally agreed mix of road safety measures will make the greatest contribution to reducing road casualties in their area. It will also provide greater financial stability and facilitate long-term planning.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his Swedish counterpart on the use of  (a) biofuels and  (b) biofuel-powered vehicles.

Ian Pearson: Transport biofuels have been discussed at an EU Environment Council meeting attended by DEFRA's Secretary of State and the Swedish Environment Minister. Sweden shares our aim to ensure biofuels are produced sustainably.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria were used to determine matters to be referred to the Independent Scientific Group investigating bovine TB; and for what reason gamma interferon was not referred to the group for study.

Ben Bradshaw: The terms of reference of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) enable them to advise, if requested, on any issue related to their work. In addition, the ISG will investigate any topic they consider to be appropriate. Officials attend ISG meetings and refer relevant matters to the group for consideration; all requests for matters to be referred to them are cleared with the Chairman and Secretary in advance.
	Discussions were held with the ISG to help inform the development of new arrangements for the increased use of the gamma interferon test for bovine TB. The resulting new policy, which was launched in October last year, was endorsed by the ISG.

British Waterways

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the original grant allocation from his Department was for British Waterways in advance of subsequent in year reductions for each year between 2000-01 and 2006-07; and what the grant allocation is for 2007-08.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows the grant allocated and the grant actually paid to British Waterways in each year from 2000-01 to 2006-07.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Original allocation  Revised following (in year changes) 
			 2000-01 58.9 64.9 
			 2001-02 52.5 61.4 
			 2002-03 71.6 71.6 
			 2003-04 76.6 76.6 
			 2004-05 59.1 59.1 
			 2005-06 61.6 62.6 
			 2006-07 59.4 55.5 
		
	
	The grant allocation for 2007-08 is the same as 2006-7 after revision.

Cattle Stocks

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the relative values of organic and non-organic cattle stocks; and if he will consider proposals to pay enhanced compensation for organic reactors to tuberculosis tests.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government recognise that the current table-based cattle compensation system (for tuberculosis, enzootic bovine leukosis, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and brucellosis) is a cause of concern to farmers of organic cattle, and officials are considering representations made.
	We have set up the Cattle Compensation Advisory Group (CCAG) to work with the industry to monitor the introduction of the new compensation system. One of the issues the CCAG has considered is the impact of the new arrangements on the organic sector.
	Defra and the CCAG are discussing a range of ideas the group has suggested for enhancing the current compensation arrangements. While DEFRA has not ruled out the possibility of changes to the compensation system, they are not inevitable. Any changes would need to be justified and fair to farmers and the taxpayer. They would also need to take account of the extensive evidence about the level of over valuation experienced under the previous system based on individual valuations.
	I will write to the hon. Member when I am in a position to provide an update on developments.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006,  Official Report, column 579W, on the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, which tier of local authority is empowered under section 3 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 to issue a fixed penalty notice or prosecute for the offence of selling cars on verges.

Ben Bradshaw: Section 9 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 defines a 'local authority' as:
	(a) a district council in England;
	(b) a county council in England for an area for which there is no district council;
	(c) a London borough council;
	(d) the common council of the City of London;
	(e) the council of the Isles of Scilly;
	(f) a county or county borough council in Wales;
	An 'authorised officer', in relation to a local authority, means an employee of the authority who is authorised in writing by the authority for the purposes of giving notices under section 6 of the Act.

Climate Change

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total Government funding was for climate change research in each of the last five years; who the recipients were; how much funding was allocated to each; and what assessment has been made of the comparative value for money of each recipient's work.

Ian Pearson: A sound basis of research to understand the implications of a changing climate is essential to drawing a climate change perspective into decision-making across the whole range of DEFRA's responsibilities. DEFRA's climate change research programme analyses the risk of human-induced climate change. It also assesses the potential impacts of climate change and our means of adaptation and mitigation.
	DEFRA's committed spend to those research projects which have some relevance to climate change is given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  DEFRA spending 
			 2002-03 22.8 
			 2003-04 28.2 
			 2004-05 33.4 
			 2005-06 35.2 
			 2006-07 (1)37.2 
			 (1) Provisional. 
		
	
	In addition to spending on projects relating directly to climate change, the figures given in the table also include spending on projects of a cross-cutting nature where climate change may be of secondary importance but still has some relevance.
	Details on all the climate change research funded by DEFRA can be found on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project_data/projects.asp?M=KWS&V==climate+change&SUBMIT1=Search&SCOPE=0
	Research on climate change funded by DEFRA is assessed through peer-review where relevant both prior to commissioning and after completion. DEFRA staff routinely review the progress and outcome of projects, often with the assistance of independent steering committees. As part of these processes, value for money is evaluated throughout the lifetime of a research project and its translation into policy.
	DEFRA also commissions periodic reviews of its research contracts. A technical and scientific review of the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) was carried out in 2005 to assess its performance and identify its priorities for the next five years. The review concluded that UKCIP is performing very effectively with the resources available and therefore represents good value for the current level of investment.
	DEFRA's research budget includes support for the Hadley Centre, which it co-funds with MOD) (contributions of £12.5 million and £3.5 million respectively in 2005-06).
	DEFRA and the Ministry of Defence have commissioned a major independent review of the activities of the Hadley Centre. This review is concerned with the scientific output and quality of the Hadley Centre's activities, as well as structure and engagement with external stakeholders. A final report is due to be published by the end of this month.
	The UK Research Councils support a considerable amount of research that is both directly about climate change or is relevant to climate change. Taken together this is of the order of £400 million over the five years. They have also invested over £190 million over the same period into sustainable and future energy.
	Research work of relevance to climate change is also undertaken and funded by the Department for International Development and the Department for Transport. In addition, the Department of Trade and Industry funds research into emerging low carbon technologies.

Council Environmental Programmes

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to help  (a) county councils,  (b) district and borough councils and  (c) parish and town councils become carbon neutral.

Ian Pearson: The 2006 UK Climate Change Programme (CCP) stated that local authorities (LAs) are likely to have a critical role in achieving our climate change objectives. The CCP included detailed measures, which are intended to help LAs deliver cuts in emissions.
	To help LAs reduce their emissions, Carbon Management (from the Carbon Trust) provides a strategic view on how carbon impacts public sector organisations by identifying the risks and opportunities associated with climate change. There is a specialist tailored programme for LAs.
	Salix, which is a not-for-profit company set up by the Carbon Trust in 2004, uses government funding of around £20 million to set up ring-fenced recycled loan funds in public sector organisations. Funding is matched by the organisation and used to invest in cost-effective, long-term energy saving projects such as insulation, heating and lighting.

Electric Shock Collars

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the banning of electric shock collars for dogs.

Ben Bradshaw: I have had no discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government on this issue. However, discussions have taken place at official level.

Environmental Liability Directive

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will clarify the definition of liable body set out in the consultation document on the Environmental Liability Directive.

Ian Pearson: Under the Environmental Liability Directive either the operator of an occupational activity, or a third party, is liable for preventing or remediating environmental damage. "Operator" is defined as:
	"any natural or legal, private or public person who operates or controls the occupational activity or, where this is provided for in national legislation, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of such an activity has been delegated, including the holder of a permit or authorisation for such an activity or the person registering or notifying such an activity"
	"Occupational activity" is defined as:
	"any activity carried out in the course of an economic activity, a business or an undertaking, irrespectively of its private or public, profit or non-profit character"
	A third party could be a private individual whose actions have given rise to a threat of or actual environmental damage from an occupational activity despite safety precautions taken by the legitimate operator of that occupational activity.

Environmental Liability Directive

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria were used in deciding which species to include as protected under the terms of the proposals in relation to the Environmental Liability Directive.

Ian Pearson: The Environmental Liability Directive defines, in Article 2.3(a), the species which fall within its scope. These are species protected under European legislation.
	The Directive further provides for member states to decide whether or not to bring within its scope species designated for protection under national legislation.

Envirowise

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the relationship is between his Department and Envirowise.

Ben Bradshaw: Envirowise is a Government funded programme offering businesses free, independent, confidential advice and support on practical ways to increase profits, minimise waste and reduce environmental impact.
	Envirowise has, since its inception in 1994, been jointly funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and DFRGTS. However, the financial year 2006-07 sees the last year of financial involvement from the DTI. The programme is currently sponsored by DEFRA with the vast majority of the funding in England, since the financial year 2005-06, coming through recycled landfill tax revenues under the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme.

EU Directives

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many EU directives have been transposed by his Department and its predecessor Departments since 1997; and how many of them were transposed beyond the minimum requirements of the original directive.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA was formed in June 2001. Information relating to DEFRA's predecessor Departments is not held centrally. Between 8 June 2001 and 31 December 2006, 203 EU directives for which DEFRA has responsibility for implementation were adopted. The Department has transposed 153 of these.
	Details of all directives in force can be found on the Eur-Lex database available on the European Union's website at:
	http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex

Fisheries

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely impact of ECJ Case C-184/06 on  (a) UK total allowable catch and  (b) fish stocks.

Ben Bradshaw: No such assessments have been made.

Fox Hunting

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the numbers of foxes  (a) hunted by dogs then shot and  (b) hunted using a bird of prey since the introduction of the Hunting Act 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Government have not made any assessment of the number of wild mammals being hunted within the law.

Gasplasma Process

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of gasplasma process technology in treating domestic waste; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: No assessment of gasplasma process technology as a mechanism to treat domestic waste has been made by this Department.
	However, the Department is aware of the technology and my officials have recently attended a demonstration of its use.

Recycling

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) mobile telephones,  (b) printer cartridges and  (c) MP3 and other music players he estimates were (i) recycled, (ii) reused overseas and (iii) disposed of within the England and Wales waste stream in each year since 2000.

Ben Bradshaw: This Department does not collect information specifically on the recycling or reuse of mobile phones, printer cartridges or music players. The mobile phone industry estimates that around 18 million handsets are replaced every year and that in 2003 and 2004, about 5 million handsets were collected by mobile phone recycling and refurbishment companies in the UK. The industry estimates that about 60 per cent. of these were refurbished and the remaining 40 per cent. were sent for materials recycling.
	Accurate information regarding materials collected for recycling and exported overseas is not available. All exported waste must be of a certain quality and be for recycling or reuse. It is for producers, local authorities and their waste management contractors to ensure that their waste is properly managed through all the steps in the recycling chain, including its final destination.
	The Environment Agency detects and prevents the illegal export of waste at major UK ports through intelligence-led, targeted inspections. Enforcement action is taken where evidence of illegal activity is found.

Recycling

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been conducted  (a) by and  (b) for his Department on the recycling and reuse of (i) mobile telephones and (ii) printer cartridges.

Ben Bradshaw: No research has been conducted by or for DEFRA specifically on the recycling and reuse of mobile phones and printer cartridges. We are, however, aware of a number of businesses and charitable organisations that currently collect mobile phones and printer cartridges for reuse and recycling.
	The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations, which transpose the EU WEEE Directive, will make producers financially responsible for the treatment and recycling of electronic equipment, including mobile phones, when it becomes waste from 1 July. DEFRA is responsible for the regulations transposing the treatment and permitting requirements of the directive, which are intended to improve the environmental performance of operators directly involved in the treatment of WEEE.
	DEFRA has also worked closely with the Department of Trade and Industry on the development of the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) Directive from 1 July 2006, and has restricted the use of six hazardous substances in the manufacture of mobile phones and other electrical and electronic equipment, meaning that they will be easier to treat and recycle when they become waste.

Recycling

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental and climate change implications of transporting large amounts of recovered paper to China.

Ben Bradshaw: No specific assessment has been made. However, the environmental impact of exporting waste paper to China for recovery is likely to be minimal since it is often transported on otherwise empty container ships which are returning to China after delivering manufactured goods to the UK.

Snares

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to review the legality of using snares.

Ben Bradshaw: When DEFRA published its code of good practice on the use of snares in fox and rabbit control in October 2005, it also published the DEFRA Snares Action Plan. A copy of the Action Plan can be found on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/snares/pdf/snares-actionplan.pdf
	The action plan clearly sets out DEFRA's commitment for research to be undertaken to monitor the voluntary uptake of the code, its practical application and impact. A research project will be procured in the near future. DEFRA will aim to review the code of good practice by the end of 2008 in the light of research findings and of its impact on snaring practices and results. Following the review of the code, DEFRA will consider giving it a higher legal status if appropriate.

Waste Resources Action Programme

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made by the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in setting up a stand-alone organisation which will take over the management of the Real Nappy Programme when WRAP funding ends in April 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: The Waste and Resources Action Programme intends to hand over the work on real nappies to other interested parties during the course of this financial year. They are currently considering options for the future management of the Real Nappy Programme.

DEFENCE

Consultants

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on consultants in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: Summaries of Ministry of Defence expenditure on external assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House for the years 1995-96 to 2005-06.

Flying Hours

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours on  (a) aircraft and  (b) simulators is required for each grade and type of RAF flying instructor; and what the equivalent required hours were in (i) 2000 and (ii) 1990.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The recommended minimum number of flying hours, on frontline aircraft types, to be considered for entry on to a Central Flying School (CFS) instructor training course is 500 hours. On passing the course pilots will be awarded a B2 (On Probation) Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI)/Qualified Helicopter Instructor (QHI) qualification.
	Instructors can then progress to Bl, A2 and Al instructional categories as they gain experience. Recategorisation can take place when instructors complete the recommended minimum number of hours of instructional duties as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  QFI/QHI instructional category  Recommended minimum instructional hours( 1,2) 
			 Bl (capable instructor) 120 
			 A2 (above average instructor) 250 
			 Al (exceptional Instructor) 400 
			 (1 )Instructors who gain a distinguished pass on a CFS Instructor course have reduced minimums. (2) At any time the Commandant Central Flying School may permit recategorization before the instructor has reached minimum instructional hours stated above based on written assessment of performance. 
		
	
	There is currently no minimum simulator hours requirement. These flying hours requirements have remained unchanged since 1990.

Gibraltar

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reason was for the delay in holding the first Joint Consultative Committee meeting between the Gibraltar Services Police Staff Association and the Local Command.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 10 January 2007
	The inaugural meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee, between representatives of the Gibraltar Services Police Staff Association (GSPSA) and MOD management in Gibraltar, was held on 11 December 2006; this was the earliest date that was agreeable to all interested parties.

Joint Strike Fighter

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out details of the assurances given by the United States in connection with the transfer of technology on the Joint Strike Fighter; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Washington on 11 December.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 8 January 2007
	I am withholding the details of the assurances obtained from the United States in connection with information access to Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) data as their release would, or would be, likely to prejudice international relations. I can assure the hon. Member that the assurances we have received fully meet the requirements we set out to deliver operational sovereignty on JSF. A copy of the unclassified Production, Sustainment and Follow-On-Development MOU is available in the Library of the House.

Letters of Condolence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1096W, on letters of condolence, how many letters of condolence have been sent by his Department to the next of kin of personnel who died in service in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq in (i) 2001, (ii) 2002 and (iii) January to July 2003.

Des Browne: Letters of condolence have always been sent to the next of kin of deceased service personnel by commanders. Prior to the formation of the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre in April 2004, no central record was kept of all condolence letters sent by the Department and to collect this information retrospectively would incur disproportionate costs.

Ministry of Defence Police: Colchester

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the establishment of Ministry of Defence police is in Colchester; and whether he has any plans to reduce this establishment.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The official complement of Ministry of Defence police (MDP) at Colchester is one inspector, five sergeants and 16 constables.
	A review of MOD policing requirements at Colchester, as part of a wider Army study, is currently under consideration but no decision has been taken.

Navy Vessels: State of Readiness

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) Royal Navy and  (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels are (i) being held in and (ii) under consideration for consignment to a reduced state of readiness; and what length of time would be required for the reactivation of each such ship to rejoin the fleet.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 January 2007
	I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Submarines

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for ensuring an adequate supply of highly enriched uranium to fuel four replacement ballistic missile submarines; and what the projected cost is of these plans.

Des Browne: We are considering options to ensure the supply of highly enriched uranium to fuel replacement ballistic missile submarines. The broad-order cost of such a requirement is reflected in the overall estimate of £15 billion-20 billion indicated in the White Paper (CM 6994) published on 4 December. At this very early stage in the procurement process, we are not in a position to break down these estimates in the way requested.

Nuclear Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what differences there are between the Trident warhead and the US W76 warhead.

Des Browne: I am withholding details of warhead design as the disclosure of such information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the security of the United Kingdom. I can, however, assure the hon. Member of the UK's independence in respect of our nuclear deterrent.

Official Cars

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cars run by his Department were manufactured  (a) in the UK and  (b) abroad.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence currently leases the majority of the cars it uses. The requirement for these vehicles is specified in output terms rather than by vehicle model and a breakdown by country of manufacture is not maintained.

Parliamentary Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will provide an answer to question  (a) 105967, on helicopter pilot flying hours,  (b) 103359, on ministerial visits and  (c) (i) 101077 and (ii) 101069, on mental welfare of discharged personnel, tabled by the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper).

Derek Twigg: I replied to the hon. Member as follows:
	 (a) Question 105967—18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1476;
	 (b) Question 103359—8 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 94-96W;
	 (c) Question 101077—18 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1478-83W;
	 (d) Question 101069—14 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1256-57W.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will answer question 101406, on Colombia, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 20 November 2006.

Des Browne: I replied to the hon. Member on 23 November 2006,  Official Report, column 169W.

Red Arrows

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are plans to change the colours of smoke used by the RAF's Red Arrows Display Team.

Adam Ingram: holding answer10 January 2007
	There are currently no plans to change the colour of the smoke used during Royal Air Force Acrobatic Team (the Red Arrows) displays.

Red Arrows

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget is of the RAF's Red Arrows Display Team in 2006-07; and what the planned budget is for 2007-08.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 10 January 2007
	The budget for the Royal Air Force Acrobatic Team (the Red Arrows) in financial year 2006-07 is £5.2 million and for financial year 2007-08 the planned budget is £5.5 million.

Red Arrows

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many performances in  (a) the UK and  (b) abroad the RAF's Red Arrows Display Team participated in during 2006.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 10 January 2007
	The Royal Air Force Acrobatic Team (the Red Arrows) performed 59 display sequences in the UK and 16 display sequences abroad in 2006.

Trade Union Funding

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding his Department has given to individual trade unions in the last three years.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence does not provide funding to individual trade unions.

Transport Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times  (a) C-17A Globemaster,  (b) Hercules LC-130,  (c) Tristar and  (d) VC-10 aircraft have been cannibalised in the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: The removal of serviceable parts from one aircraft for use on another is a routine and temporary measure to ensure that the maximum number of aircraft are available to the front line.
	The number of these instances over the last 12 months (January to December 2006 unless otherwise annotated), by donor aircraft, is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Aircraft type  Number of cannibalisations 
			 C17 49 
			 C130J (1)509 
			 C130K (2)529 
			 TriStar 165 
			 VC10 77 
			 (1) 1 November 2005 to 31 October 2006. (2) 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2006.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to decide whether to order the seventh and eighth Type 45 destroyers.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 January 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 June 2006,  Official Report, column 627W.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Type 45 destroyers will typically be available for deployment at any one time if six such ships are constructed.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 January 2007
	No decision has been taken to reduce the number of Type 45s to be ordered. Six Type 45 destroyers are already under contract. Once they are in service, five will typically be available, at various states of readiness, for deployment.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Cannabis

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug.

Vernon Coaker: No. The Government's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was taken in the light of the advice we received from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the harmfulness of cannabis relative to that of other drugs in class B.
	The Government's decision last year to retain cannabis as a class C drug was taken in the light of further advice from the council following its consideration of all the relevant evidence about the effects of taking cannabis on mental health.

Police: Derbyshire

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds his Department plans to provide to support policing in Derbyshire in addition to the Police Grant Settlement.

Tony McNulty: Under the terms of the provisional settlement announced on 28 November 2006, in 2007-08 Derbyshire will receive £105.8 million in general grants, an increase of 3.7 per cent. (£3.8 million) over 2006-07.
	On top of general grants, Derbyshire will continue to benefit from an estimated £18 million from a range of other Government funding.

Community Support Officers

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences have been dealt with by community support officers in Halifax since 2005.

Vernon Coaker: Although the Home Office does not collect data on offences dealt with at individual officer level, we do measure offences brought to justice and sanction detections through the Police Performance Assessment Framework. In the most recent assessment (for 2005-06), West Yorkshire police achieved an excellent rating for investigating crime.
	Police community support officers (PCSOs) are important members of Neighbourhood Policing teams, providing reassurance through strong community engagement and high visibility policing. They deal with issues that the local community identify as their priority such as low level crime and antisocial behaviour.

Asylum Seekers

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures to deport failed asylum seekers.

Liam Byrne: The effectiveness of measures deployed to remove failed asylum seekers is assessed on an ongoing basis. These measures have ensured that the removal of failed asylum seekers has been steadily increasing over the past few years.

Prisons

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research he has evaluated or commissioned on the effectiveness of prisons in reducing reoffending.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We are delivering a wide range of interventions in prisons which are consistent with international evidence on what is effective in reducing reoffending. We have some evidence on these interventions in England and Wales which the Home Office has published. As part of the ongoing National Offender Management Service research strategy we will be developing our understanding of what works in prisons.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visitors were arrested for possession of contraband at each prison establishment in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Information on the number of visitors arrested for possession of contraband is not routinely collected. However an analysis of visitors arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle drugs indicates that in 2005-06 there were around 400 such arrests.

Probation Officers

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vacant positions there are for probation officers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Figures for 31 March 2006 show that there were a total of 8,262.50 full-time equivalent probation officers in post in England and Wales. On the same date there were 227.70 full-time equivalent vacancies that were actively being recruited to, which accounted for 2.68 per cent. of the total posts available at that time.

Road Policing

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers' head of road policing on the impact on crime detection rates of registration of vehicles to false addresses.

Vernon Coaker: This issue has been considered at various times over a significant period. The most recent ministerial discussion with ACPO took place on 5 July last year.

Anti social Behaviour

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation introduced in the last 10 years to combat antisocial behaviour.

Tony McNulty: The effectiveness of legislation and interventions introduced to combat anti social behaviour has been assessed in two major independent reports published last year. On 7 December 2006 the National Audit Office published the report titled "Tackling Anti-social Behaviour—Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General". On 2 November 2006 the Youth Justice Board published a report titled "Anti-Social Behaviour Order Research". Both of these reports confirm that our twin track approach of support and sanction is effective in providing communities respite from antisocial behaviour.

Anti social Behaviour

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of interventions to combat antisocial behaviour.

Tony McNulty: The effectiveness of legislation and interventions introduced to combat antisocial behaviour has been assessed in two major independent reports published last year. On 7 December 2006 the National Audit Office published the report titled "Tackling Anti-social Behaviour—Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General". On 2 November 2006 the Youth Justice Board published a report titled "Anti-Social Behaviour Order Research". Both of these reports confirm that our twin track approach of support and sanction is effective in providing communities respite from antisocial behaviour.

Police Cells

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are being held in police cells.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of prisoners held in police cells will vary on a daily basis and is dependent on the management of regional prison population pressures.

Border Security

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the e-Borders scheme on the security of the UK's borders.

Liam Byrne: The e-Borders Programme will strengthen the security of the UK's borders by identifying individuals who present a risk through the universal collection and analysis of passenger information from carriers hi advance of travel. It will expedite the movement of legitimate passengers while helping to safeguard the UK against serious organised crime, terrorism and illegal immigration. The concepts have been proved and delivered through Project Semaphore, the de-risking pilot for e-Borders solution.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last visited the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Croydon to assess the efficiency of the service.

Liam Byrne: As part of my ongoing programme of weekly regional visits to IND operations in Croydon and around the UK I discuss the services provided by managed migration, asylum and enforcement with both staff and stakeholders. I also regularly discuss the efficiency of the service with the Director General of IND, and other senior officials.

Neighbourhood Policing

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the introduction of neighbourhood policing in  (a) Avon and Somerset police force and  (b) England and Wales.

Vernon Coaker: Neighbourhood policing will be introduced to every area by April 2007, and every community will have a neighbourhood policing team by April 2008. Delivery of neighbourhood policing has now extended to more than 6,700 neighbourhoods.
	Currently there are 47 dedicated neighbourhood policing teams in Avon and Somerset.

Drug Addiction and Crime

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the inter-relationship between drug addiction and crime; and what steps he is taking to reduce drugs dependency among criminals.

Vernon Coaker: The inter-relationships between drug misuse and crime are complex, but it is generally accepted that there is a strong relationship between addiction, especially to heroin and crack cocaine, and acquisitive crime. There has been record investment in tackling this problem, including the establishment of the Drug Interventions Programme, the provision of drug interventions in prisons and the expansion of drug treatment services.

Community Sentences

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of  (a) public awareness of unpaid work carried out by offenders complying with the terms of community sentences and  (b) public engagement in selecting the work to be undertaken by offenders pursuant to community sentences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office has not made any formal assessment of the public awareness of unpaid work carried out by offenders, however Community Payback (the name by which we promote unpaid work in the community) continues to receive significant amounts of local and national media coverage. Probation areas seek to make the public aware of this work and the positive contribution it makes to the community by means such as the use of plaques and signs at work sites, displays in public buildings, and by presentations to community groups. All probation areas have set up systems encouraging the public to suggest projects which they would like to see carried out.
	In March 2006, probation areas completed a snapshot of their unpaid work provision. This showed the strong links to a wide variety of partners as sources of unpaid work of which the main ones were the voluntary sector (45 per cent.), local authorities (38 per cent.), education (15 per cent.), faith groups (12 per cent.) and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (10 per cent.). The overall numbers add up to more than 100 per cent. as some projects fit more than one category.

Conditional Cautions

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the trial to assess different models of conditional cautions in seven criminal justice areas.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Plans to establish new models for conditional cautioning were announced in the Respect Action Plan launched in January 2006. These new models involve the offender undertaking unpaid (reparative) work—to make good the damage they have caused to the local community that has suffered. In this way, offenders give something back to the community to repair the harm they have caused. The pilots are now starting in Durham, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Wales, South Yorkshire, Thames Valley and West Mercia, and will run until December 2007. A decision on whether to expand the scheme will be taken early next year.

Crime Statistics

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of  (a) violence against the person,  (b) theft and  (c) criminal damage were committed in Stockport in each year since 1998.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Data are for Stockport Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP).
	Recorded crime data by CDRP were first collected centrally in 1999-2000, but for certain offences only. A full data collection followed in 2000-01. Therefore, data for violence against the person are available from 1999-2000 and for theft and criminal damage from 2000-01.
	The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Stockport Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Violence against the person 3,218 3,470 3,543 3,809 4,313 4,427 4,409 
			 Theft and handling n/a 13,246 13,402 13,017 12,053 10,380 10,578 
			 Criminal damage n/a 7,021 7,468 6,831 7,304 6,722 7,387 
			  Note:  The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002 which means these figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crime Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes took place in Peterborough city council area in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The available information is for the Peterborough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area and is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: violent crimes recorded by the police in the Peterborough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area—2001-02 
			  Number of violent crimes 
			 2001-02 3,202 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: violent crimes recorded by the police in the Peterborough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area—2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  Number of violent crimes 
			 2002-03 5,203 
			 2003-04 5,855 
			 2004-05 5,827 
			 2005-06 4,775 
			  Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced nationally in April 2002. Figures after that date are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

DNA Database

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to question 103285, on the DNA database, tabled by the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) for named day answer on 28 November 2006.

Joan Ryan: I replied to the hon. Member on 4 January 2007,  Official Report, column 132W.

Drivers' Vision

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists have been  (a) fined,  (b) awarded penalty points and  (c) disqualified for driving with vision below the required standard in each police area since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested cannot be separately identified as it is grouped together with other summary motoring offences within the offence group 'Driving licence related offences'.

Foreign Prisoner Releases

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 28 November 2006, on foreign prisoner releases, when he will provide the number of foreign prisoner releases from HMP Peterborough in the 12 months to 31 March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 December 2006
	Local prison records show that 55 foreign national prisoners (rounded to the nearest five) were released from HMP Peterborough in the 12 months leading to 31 March 2006. This figure may include deportations, transfers to other prisons across the prison estate and to IND removal centres.
	These figures have been drawn from the prisons administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.

Identity Cards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department will determine whether a civil offence has been committed under section 7(2) or (3) of the Identity Cards Act 2006; and who will be responsible for liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service over such offences.

Joan Ryan: No-one will be liable for a civil penalty under section 7 of the Identity Cards Act until the scheme has been made compulsory, which will require further primary legislation. All civil penalties will be determined in accordance with sections 31 to 34 of the Identity Cards Act and the Code of Practice which will be published before the commencement of the national identity scheme. The Crown Prosecution Service will not be involved in the administration of civil penalties, which do not relate to criminal offences and will be the responsibility of the Secretary of State.

Identity Cards

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to use local authority offices or facilities to facilitate the recording of biometric information for the identity cards programme;
	(2)  how many regional offices will be established to facilitate the recording of biometric information for the identity cards programme; and where the offices will be situated.

Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service currently has no plans to set up further regional offices in addition to the current seven regional passport offices in London, Newport, Peterborough, Glasgow, Durham, Liverpool and Belfast. An expanded local office network is already being put in place in order to meet and interview first-time applicants for passports (Authentication by Interview) and to prepare for recording biometrics. This network consists of 69 offices throughout the UK in the following proposed locations:
	Aberdeen, Aberystwyth, Andover, Armagh, Barnstaple, Belfast, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Birmingham, Blackburn, Boston, Bournemouth, Bristol, Bury St. Edmunds, Camborne, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Coleraine, Crawley, Derby, Dover, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Exeter, Galashiels, Glasgow, Hastings, Hull, Inverness, Ipswich, Kendal, Kilmarnock, Kings Lynn, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Luton, Maidstone, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Newport, Newport (Isle of Wight), Northallerton, Northampton, Norwich, Oban, Omagh, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Scarborough, Shrewsbury, Sheffield, St Austell, Stirling, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, Swindon, Warwick, Wick, Wrexham, Yeovil and York.
	These offices will open in 2007 and the network will subsequently be used for the national identity scheme. Where the network of enrolment centres needs to be further expanded, we will first seek to use high street offices that are already used by central and local government. The extent to which this will be done and the offices involved will be determined following further analysis of the needs of the scheme. We will also look at options for the private sector providing outlets. The Authentication by Interview project for passports is working with local authorities to make use of their offices to provide remote interview facilities (via videoconferencing) for remote communities that are not near any of the 69 local interview offices.

Licence Breaches

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is issued by his Department to  (a) multi-agency public protection panels with regard to the supervision of level three offenders and  (b) multi-agency risk assessment conferences with regard to the supervision of level two offenders.

Gerry Sutcliffe: National guidance on the establishment and operation of multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) was issued in 2003 and updated in 2004. The guidance is directed towards chief officers of probation and police, and Prison Service area managers who are jointly responsible for monitoring the arrangements. It is publicly available via the national probation service website.

Licence Breaches

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations took place following the serious sexual or violent offences committed by the one level three offender and the four level two offenders managed by multi-agency public protection panels and multi-agency risk assessment conferences in South Wales which resulted in charges being brought in 2005-06; and what the conclusions were of each investigation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: When an offender in the community under the supervision of the probation service is charged with committing a serious offence, the supervising area must inform the NOMS public protection unit (PPU) and undertake a Serious Further Offence (SFO) Review.
	The SFO process is an internal procedure carried out by the probation service, and overseen by the PPU, to identify any areas of improvement to risk assessment and management practice. The reviews for these five cases have all been completed and any learning points highlighted.

National Identity Register

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether university students will be required to register their term-time address with the national identity register in addition to their vacation address.

Joan Ryan: As was stated during the passage of the Identity Cards Act 2006, students will be given the option of recording their home address or a term-time address or both.

National Identity Register

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there will be a charge to register a second residence with the national identity register.

Joan Ryan: The Government have indicated in Parliament that they anticipate that changes to information on a person's record on the national identity register that would not require a change of card (e.g. address) would not incur a fee. Registration of an additional residence would be likely to fall into this category.

Prison Service

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how complaints about the leadership of the director-general of the Prison Service and the provision by him to his staff of organisation, support and preparation for their work are investigated.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Complaints about the leadership of the director-general of the Prison Service would be dealt with by the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service and her office, who would investigate the complaint with the director-general's office.

Private Finance Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total capital value is of each private finance initiative scheme overseen by his Department which has reached financial close; over what periods repayments for each scheme will take place; and what the total cost of repayment will be for each scheme.

Vernon Coaker: The total capital value, the periods of repayments and the total cost of repayments for each private finance initiative scheme overseen by the Home Department which has reached financial close are as follows:
	
		
			  Commissioning body  Project name  Total capital value (£ million)  Periods of repayments  estimated total unitary payments (£ million) 
			 Home Office Home Office HQ (2 Marsham Street) 376 2004-31 1,427 
			 National Offender Management Services (NOMS) HMP Altcourse 68 2006-22 559 
			 NOMS HMYOI Ashfield 26 2006-24 471 
			 NOMS HMP Bronzefield 43 2006-29 631 
			 NOMS HMP Dovegate 64 2006-29 484 
			 NOMS HMP Forest Bank 45 2006-25 480 
			 NOMS HMP Lowdham Grange 25 2006-22 268 
			 NOMS HMP Parc 47 2006-22 627 
			 NOMS HMP Peterborough 68 2006-29 786 
			 NOMS HMP Rye Hill 37 2006-26 382 
			 Prison Service Quantum IT Services 51 2000-13 435 
			 Prison Service HES1 9 2003-14 60 
			 Prison Service HES2 16 2003-19 117 
			 Identity and Passport Service PASS Project 30 1998-2006 130 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Cookham Wood 8 1998-2013 188 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Onley 8 — 0 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Hassockfield 10 1999-2012 101 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Hassockfield Expansion 5 — 0 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Onley Expansion 6 1999-2013 159 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Onley Expansion 5 — 0 
			 Youth Justice Board STC Cookham Wood Expansion 6 — 0 
			 Youth Justice Board Milton Keynes STC 19 2004-29 448 
			 Home Office IT 2000 (Sirius) 25 2003-11 481 
			 Derbyshire Police Ilkeston Police Station 3 1998-2026 14 
			 Wiltshire Police Air Support 3 1997-2006 5 
			 Northumbria Police Mounted Facilities 2 1998-2011 4 
			 Thames Valley Police Abingdon Area DHQ 8 1999-2027 50 
			 Derbyshire Police Divisional HQ 16 1998-2027 116 
			 Dorset police Regional HQ and City Police Stations 15 2000-29 93 
			 Norfolk Police Constabulary HQ, Operations and Communications Centre 23 2001-28 154 
			 Cleveland Police and Durham Constabulary Firearms Facility 6 2001-24 34 
			 Dyfed Powys Police Authority Ammanford Police Station 8 2000-28 19 
			 Cumbria Constabulary Workington Police Station 5 2001-24 25 
			 Nottinghamshire Police Traffic Wing and Vehicles Services 20 2002-26 78 
			 Sussex Police Authority Centralised Custody Suites 17 2002-28 270 
			 Cheshire Police Authority Force HQ 35 2003-28 159 
			 N. Wales Divisional HQ 15 2003-27 71 
			 Greater Manchester Property Review—Divisional/Sub Divisional HQ and Police Stations 60 2003-28 290 
			 Wiltshire Police HQ 20 2004-28 73 
			 Gloucestershire Constabulary Force HQ 17 2004-31 88 
			 Kent Constabulary Medway 22 2004-31 87 
			 Gwent Police Tstrad Mynach Police Station 6 2004-30 30 
			 Cheshire Police Authority Centralised Custody Suites 17 2004-30 186 
			 Cleveland Police Rationalised Custody 29 2005-31 128 
			 Kent Constabulary North Kent 32 2007-34 72

Racially Aggravated Offences

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were charged with racially aggravated offences in each English region in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The requested data are not collected centrally. Prosecutions for racially aggravated offences by local area have been included in successive annual releases of the Section 95 publication 'Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System', which are available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/section951.html

Rape

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of how the effectiveness of written warnings to young offenders in combating rape; in what circumstances young offenders who have committed  (a) rape and  (b) sexual assault may be issued with written warnings; and what assessment has been made of the views of victims of those crimes of the use of written warnings.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The decision to give a warning for a rape or sexual offence is dependent on the facts of each case and, since three April 2006, will be made by a specialist rape prosecutor and referred to a second specialist prosecutor for a second opinion before a warning is delivered. The prosecutor will have access to the full facts of the case, something that is rarely in the public domain.
	In general warnings are not appropriate for a rape or other serious sexual offence. But the police and CPS must have the flexibility to act in the best interests of the victim in exceptional situations. When deciding whether to issue a warning the views of the victim will be taken into account.

Translation Costs

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English was in 2005-06.

Liam Byrne: The cost for translating Home Office publications into languages other than English between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 was £148,582.18.

PRIME MINISTER

Agricultural Sector

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of brigading Government responsibilities for the agricultural industry and the environment within one Department; and if he will move responsibility for the agricultural sector to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 21 February 2005,  Official Report, column 192W.

Annual Reports

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects the Annual Reports for 2005 of  (a) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and  (b) the Intelligence Service Commissioners to be published.

Tony Blair: The reports will be published in due course.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Prime Minister how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old.

Tony Blair: I received over 2,070,000 items of post during the 2005-06 parliamentary session, including a number of campaign cards and letters, and over 14,200 letters from Members of Parliament: these included invitations and requests about constituency matters, which were dealt with as appropriate.
	My Office deals with all correspondence as efficiently as possible. Information regarding the dates on which individual pieces of correspondence were answered is not held in the format requested.

Donated Asset Reserve

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister where the register of items held by his Office which belong to the Donated Asset Reserve is  (a) held and  (b) maintained.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave him on 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 330W.

Downing Street Staff

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the job titles are of each staff member employed at public expense at No. 10 Downing street.

Tony Blair: Details of key officials in my Office can be found in "Vacher's Quarterly" and "Dod's Civil Service Companion". Copies of each can be found in the Libraries of the House. Details can also be found on the No. 10 website.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Prime Minister on what dates he has made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) on 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 4W.

EU Constitution

Graham Brady: To ask the Prime Minister if he will appoint an adviser to take part in talks on the EU constitution and on agreeing a new political declaration of the EU's purpose, as requested by the Chancellor of Germany.

Tony Blair: At the request of the German presidency, we have appointed two senior officials to liaise with the presidency in their consultations in preparation for the Political Declaration and over possible ways to take the constitutional process forward. These are currently Mr. Kim Darroch (my EU adviser and head of the Cabinet Office European Secretariat) and Ms Nicola Brewer (Europe director general in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office).

Honours

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister for which jobs people are given honours automatically by convention; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: Since the 1993 review of honours by the then Prime Minister (John Major) there has been no assumption that honours will automatically be attached to particular posts in either the public or the private sectors, with the exception of High Court judicial appointments.

Iraq

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Prime Minister which officials from his Office were seconded to the political party of former Prime Minister Alawi in the period leading up to the most recent elections in Iraq.

Tony Blair: None.

Miami Trip Costs

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost to the public purse was of the  (a) travel,  (b) accommodation and  (c) hospitality for the staff who accompanied him to his recent trip to Miami.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the Register of Members Interests. As was the practice under previous Administrations, I was accompanied by essential communications and security staff.

Ministerial Residences

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what residences have been made available to Ministers in the course of their duties; where each is; what the council tax banding of each is; and to which Minister each residence is allocated.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1625W.
	In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has been allocated 1 Carlton Gardens. The flats in Downing street, Admiralty house and the Carlton gardens residence are in council tax Band H. Council tax for Chequers, Chevening and Dorneywood is a matter for the trustees.

Ministerial Residences

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent on each residence made available to a Minister on  (a) council tax,  (b) rent,  (c) repairs and maintenance,  (d) redecoration and  (e) other running costs in 2005-06.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W. I pay my own council tax on my official residence. Expenditure on other official residences is a matter for the relevant Minister's Department.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Office in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specific date.

Tony Blair: My Office aims to answer all ordinary written parliamentary questions within five working days, and named day written parliamentary questions on the day named.
	In the period from January 2006 to December 2006, 479 ordinary written and 156 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to my Office. Of these, 98 per cent. of ordinary written parliamentary questions were answered within 10 working days and 99 per cent. of named day questions were answered on the day named.

Policy Review

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister which Cabinet committees are involved in the Prime Minister's policy review.

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what the terms of reference are of the Policy Review Working Groups on  (a) Great Britain and the world and  (b) the role of the state.

Tony Blair: I refer the right hon. Member to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 19 October 2006. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website (http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Pagel0244.asp) and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Details of the Policy Review Working Groups and related Cabinet Committee business are also available on the Cabinet Office website (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/secretariats/economic_and_domestic/policy_review/index.asp).

Policy Review

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister how many staff in  (a) No. 10 Downing street and  (b) the Cabinet Office are involved in work on the Prime Minister's policy review.

Tony Blair: The policy review is a high priority for the whole of Government, including Cabinet Office and No. 10, and staff are involved as and when appropriate.

Russia

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on UK trade.

Tony Blair: I have not had any recent discussions on UK trade with President Putin.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister whether special advisers in No. 10 Downing street have made use of an official car in the last 12 months, excluding travel, when accompanying a Minister.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Transport on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1063W.

WMD Review

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister who the  (a) sources and  (b) alleged sub-source were on the sourcing chain referred to in paragraph 405 of the Review of Intelligence of Weapons of Mass Destruction; if he will place in the Library the two reports received from that sourcing chain; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence matters. Lord Butler's Review placed all relevant information on this topic in the public domain insofar as that could be done without prejudicing national security. I have nothing further to add.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

5th Avenue Partners Ltd.

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if the Electoral Commission will re-commence its investigation into the admissibility of 5th Avenue Partners Ltd.'s donations following the conviction of Mr. Michael Brown.

Peter Viggers: The Commission informs me that it continues to liaise with the City of London Police, whose investigation into the activities and status of 5th Avenue Partners Ltd. is ongoing, and it will consider carefully any information that has a bearing on the permissibility of donations made by the company.

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much the Electoral Commission spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper (including online) in the last year for which figures are available.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that in the financial year 2005-06 it spent £44,437 on advertising in  The Guardian newspaper.

Political Party Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what research the Electoral Commission undertook into political party expenditure in the last three Parliaments.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me it has included analysis of campaign spending by political parties in its statutory reports on elections since 2001.
	In addition, its report, "The Funding of Political Parties", published in 2004, examined the expenditure of the main political parties that won seats at the 2001 United Kingdom parliamentary general election based on their 2002 and 2003 statements of accounts.
	These reports are available on the Commission's website, along with the statements of accounts submitted by the political parties to the Commission.

Political Party Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what research the Electoral Commission has undertaken into the total current level of direct and indirect state funding to political parties in  (a) cash and  (b) non-cash terms.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that its 2004 report "The Funding of Political Parties", and the related background paper published by the Commission in 2003, examined methods and levels of public funding of political parties in the United Kingdom, including both direct and indirect sources. The report and the background paper are available on the Commission's website.

Public Awareness Expenditure Budget

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the Electoral Commission's Public Awareness Expenditure budget was in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it spent £7.1 million on promoting public awareness of electoral and democratic systems in 2005-06 and that the current forecast expenditure for 2006-07 is £6.4 million.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Canals and Inland Waterways

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what effect she expects reductions in the British Waterways grant to have on sport, leisure, recreation and tourism associated with Britain's canals and inland waterways.

Shaun Woodward: It is important that British Waterways has the correct resources to continue the work of maintaining and improving waterways as a focus for local communities and tourism.
	DEFRA continues to consult closely with British Waterways on minimising any effect of grant reduction in 2006-07.

Departmental Targets

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the progress towards the targets set out in her Departmental Business Plan 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: The most up-to-date information on progress against our PSA and efficiency targets can be found in the 2006 DCMS Autumn Performance Report which was published on 19 December and is accessible via the following link to the DCMS website
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/6FC98BF6-86F2-41FF-B2AC-6F7986F54593/0/APR2006PDFVersionforWeb2.pdf
	Additionally, hard copies of this report were placed in the Libraries of both houses on 19 December 2006.

Digital Television

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of people who are eligible for the digital switchover targeted assistance programme but who may not be identified by the proposals put forward in the Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Department for Work and Pensions holds information on the vast majority of people aged 75 or above and on all those who have an award of disability living allowance, attendance allowance or an equivalent benefit under the industrial injuries scheme. The Veterans Agency holds information about people who have an award of constant attendance allowance or war pensioners' mobility supplement payable under the pre-2005 war pension scheme.
	We estimate that around 20 per cent. of people who are blind or partially sighted do not qualify on grounds of age or an award of a qualifying disability benefit—around 60,000 people in all. Therefore they may not be identified through the provisions of the Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill.
	We are considering whether the Bill should be extended to include information held by local authorities on people who are blind or partially sighted.

Digital Television

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the outcome was of her Department's disability equality impact assessment of digital switchover and the targeted help scheme.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 8 January 2007
	A regulatory impact assessment was published in September 2005 setting out a detailed assessment of the impact of digital switchover on consumers, particularly the elderly and those with a disability. As a result, we have taken steps to address the disadvantages that these groups face as a result of switchover, primarily through the digital switchover help scheme but also through initiatives carried out by Digital UK with hard to reach groups.
	A full equalities impact assessment will be carried out if further screening identifies a need.

Digital Television

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of households which will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in Devon and Cornwall, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Shaun Woodward: The details are in the table
	
		
			  Constituency ( 1) Households 
			  Devon  
			 East Devon 16,000 
			 Exeter 13,000 
			 North Devon 14,000 
			 Plymouth, Devonport 13,000 
			 Plymouth, Sutton 12,000 
			 South West Devon 10,000 
			 Teignbridge 16,000 
			 Tiverton and Honiton 14,000 
			 Torbay 16,000 
			 Torridge and West Devon 14,000 
			 Totnes 14,000 
			  Cornwall  
			 Falmouth and Camborne 14,000 
			 North Cornwall 15,000 
			 St Ives 14,000 
			 South East Cornwall 13,000 
			 Truro and St Austell 15,000 
			 (1)Defined as eligible benefit units.  Notes: 1. Rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Eligibility for help from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme will be by benefit unit rather than the whole household definition used by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office to forecast future household growth. 3. The definition of a benefit unit is a couple and any dependent children. It excludes adults deemed to be non-dependents who, if eligible, will be able to claim assistance from the Help Scheme in their own right.

Digital Television

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether there will be published maps detailing the frequencies to be used in each UK region that will broadcast digital television following the publication of the Ofcom document on Digital Dividend Review; and if she will ensure that adequate time is afforded post publication for those who wish to respond to the Ofcom consultation to be able to include reference to the map's contents in their evidence before the deadline of 13 March.

Shaun Woodward: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom), as independent regulator for the communications sector. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Events Licences

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will assess the cost of obtaining events licences for scout and guide premises.

Shaun Woodward: DCMS has no plans to assess the costs of obtaining licences specifically for scout and guide premises. However, the Government are keen to ensure that community premises in general are not subject to unnecessary burdens under the new licensing regime. The Independent Licensing Fees Review Panel has been asked to look specifically at the impact of fees on village and community halls. Copies of the panel's report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses shortly.

Funding Applications

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for funding to  (a) the National Lottery,  (b) the Big Lottery Fund and  (c) Reaching Communities were refused in each of the last two years for which figures are available; and what percentage of applications were refused in each year.

Richard Caborn: The Department has never collected comprehensive information about the number of Lottery applications. The number of unsuccessful applications to all Lottery distributors could be ascertained only at disproportionate cost.
	According to information supplied by the Big Lottery Fund, the Reaching Communities programme was opened to applications in December 2005. Since then, there have been 987 applications. 272 awards have been made and 715 applications (about 72 per cent.) were unsuccessful.
	Most Big Lottery Fund programmes other than Reaching Communities have been operating for less than two years, so it would not be meaningful to break the figures down by year. In total, 64,505 applications have gone to decision of which 45,422 were successful and 19,083 (just under 30 per cent.) unsuccessful.

Gambling

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2006,  Official Report, column 166W, on gambling, with which members of the Small Bookmakers Association the Gambling Commission discussed the consultation document on gambling operating and personal licence fees; what position each held in the Association; and what company each represented.

Richard Caborn: My answer of 23 November 2006,  Official Report, column 166W, on gambling, referred to the Gambling Commission discussing the consultation document on gambling operating and personal licence fees with the Small Bookmakers Association. This was an error, since no such organisation exists. However, the Commission did discuss the fees proposals with both small bookmakers and representatives of small bookmakers, listed as follows:
	Warwick Bartlett, Global Betting and Gaming Consultants and Chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers;
	Howard Chisholm of Chisholm Bookmakers;
	Charles Needham of Tremayne Racing;
	Will Roseff of Backhouse Racing.
	The Remote Gambling Association was also incorrectly described as the British Gambling Association in the previous answer of 23 November 2006.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of the homes on the Olympic site will meet the Government energy efficiency targets.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is currently developing the specifications for the accommodation to be built in the Olympic Park. The ODA's Sustainability Strategy will be published later this month, giving detailed targets on the environmental performance, including performance of homes against energy efficiency targets, of developments on the Olympic site.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the accommodation to be built in the Olympic Park will meet the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government's building targets for zero carbon homes.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is currently developing the specifications for the accommodation to be built in the Olympic Park. The ODA's Sustainability Strategy will be published later this month, giving detailed targets on the environmental performance, including carbon performance, of the Olympic Park.

National Heritage Memorial Fund

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 8 January 2007, to question 112787, on board members, which board member of the National Heritage Memorial Fund stood for election as a local councillor in 2004; and for which political party the individual was a candidate.

David Lammy: Mike Emmerich, currently serving his second term of appointment as a trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, stood as a Labour Party candidate in the 2004 local elections. He no longer undertakes any political activity.

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in her Department and its executive agencies; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Information on the cash equivalent transfer value of public sector pensions for senior staff is published annually in the Departmental Resource Accounts. The most recently published accounts for 2005-06 were laid before the House of Commons on:
	19 July 2006—The Royal Parks Agency
	24 July 2006—Department for Culture Media and Sport
	and copies placed in the Libraries of the House.

Swimming Pools: Drownings

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress she has made on the research into childhood drowning in public pools promised to the Right to Swim Campaign in October 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The action plan which my Department announced in September 2005, to address an apparent blanket application of restrictive admissions policies at swimming pools, has achieved its aim.
	The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management issued revised guidance in 2005. As a consequence, we are aware of at least 15 pools that have since changed their admissions policies.
	We remain keen to conclude implementation of the action plan with the publication of the research led by the National Water Safety Forum, and we expect this to happen as soon as possible. We understand the publication date has been delayed due to a need for further evidence gathering.

WALES

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office has no letters from right hon. and hon. Members, received during session 2005-06, that remain unanswered.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 Session were not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost.

Peter Hain: This information is not held in the format requested. However, it is a matter of public record and can be found in the  Official Report.

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: Information is only available for the post of Director of the Wales Office. Details of the cash equivalent transfer value of the Directors who held that post was published in the Remuneration Report of the Department for Constitutional Affairs Resource Accounts for 2005-06, pages 20 and 21. The accounts were printed on 12 October 2006, and are available in the House Library, or on the DCA's website.
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/dept/report2006/resource-accts-0506a.pdf.

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office spent £1,930 in 2005-06 on Royal Mail.
	For previous years, information on spend was not recorded in this format, and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

SCOTLAND

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost;
	(2)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation, or similar wording.

David Cairns: None.

Procurement Projects

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the 20 largest procurement projects initiated by his Department since May 1997 were; what the  (a) original budget,  (b) cost to date and  (c) consultancy fees were; and what the final cost was of each project which has been completed.

David Cairns: Other than minor purchases, the Scotland Office does not undertake discrete procurement projects and utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs for its day-to-day activities.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Bookstart Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) children and  (b) schools received resources from the bookstart scheme.

Beverley Hughes: From April 2005 to December 2006, 2,519,097 books were distributed across the UK through the Bookstart scheme. This includes Bookstart, Bookstart Plus and Treasure Chest packs.
	Bookstart is not currently delivered through schools.

Children's Centres

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what future funding he proposes to local authorities to fund children's centres following the first year's funding.

Beverley Hughes: The first Sure Start children's centres were set up in 2003. Between 2003 and 2006 we have delivered centres to reach 650,000 children under five and their families. We are now in the second phase which will see 2,500 centres in total up and running by 2008. The revenue allocation for the current phase (2006-08) is £1.4 billion for children's centres and Sure Start Local Programmes and includes start-up funding for new centres opening between 2006 and 2008 as well as ongoing funding to support centres that opened before April 2006. By 2010 we aim to have 3,500 centres open—one for every community—and we intend that children's centres will be a key part of our permanent, mainstream children's services. Decisions about funding for children's centres after 2008 will be taken when we have concluded our comprehensive spending review.

Citizenship Education

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he last met Ofsted to discuss the teaching of citizenship in schools.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has regular meetings with HM Chief Inspector on a range of matters. The Chief Inspector has a duty to advise the Secretary of State about quality of education and standards in schools, including in relation to citizenship. On 28 September Ofsted published "Towards Consensus? Citizenship in Secondary Schools" reporting on progress schools have made on establishing programmes of citizenship. In addition, citizenship is one of many areas reported on by the Chief Inspector in her annual report to the Secretary of State, the latest of which was published on 22 November 2006. Officials meet regularly with Ofsted to discuss citizenship.

Departmental Publications: Translations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English was in 2005-06.

Parmjit Dhanda: The cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English during the financial year 2005-06 was £170,252.

Early Years Care

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the evidential basis was for determining that the funding allocation for the free early years entitlement is sufficient to cover the cost nationally of 12.5 hours child care provision for every three and four-year-old for 38 weeks a year.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 11 January 2007
	We currently invest £3 billion per year in the delivery of the free entitlement for three and four-year-olds. This funding is intended to provide, for each eligible child, access to high quality early learning and care, delivered in accordance with the Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Daycare Standards.
	In the context of the comprehensive spending review and in order to assess the impact of extending the free entitlement to 15 hours and increasing its flexibility by 2010, work has been done to identify the current cost of providing the free entitlement in different kinds of settings. This has involved modelling on the basis of the national survey data and also discussions and joint work with a range of local authorities and stakeholders. On the basis of this, we judge that there is sufficient national funding in the system to deliver the free entitlement.

Early Years Care

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the expected cost to the Exchequer of extending the entitlement to free nursery care for all three and four-year-olds from 12.5 hours per week to  (a) 15 and  (b) 20 hours per week for 38 weeks;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the expected cost to the Exchequer of extending the entitlement to free nursery care for all three and four-year-olds from 38 to 43 weeks a year for  (a) 15 and  (b) 20 hours per week.

Beverley Hughes: holding answers 11 January 2007
	The 10-Year Childcare Strategy set out our commitment to extending the free entitlement to early education and care for all three and four-year-olds to 15 hours by 2010. We are also committed to increasing the flexibility of the free entitlement so that it is more responsive to the needs of children and families.
	In the context of the comprehensive spending review (CSR) work is ongoing to estimate the cost of the extensions to 15 and 20 hours, based on population and take-up data and current levels of funding. We are seeking to roll-out the extension to 15 hours gradually, starting with 20 pathfinder local authorities who will begin providing the 15 hours and greater flexibility from April this year. These pathfinders will provide crucial information on the practical local implications of the changes which will underpin national estimates of the cost of extending the entitlement and increasing its flexibility. Figures cannot be confirmed in advance of the Department's comprehensive spending review settlement and until we have these findings.
	We have no plans to extend the free entitlement to 43 rather than 38 weeks, though some local authorities offer the current free entitlement over more than 38 weeks by providing access to fewer hours per week where this is what parents want for their children.

English Language Teaching

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to improve the  (a) accessibility and  (b) affordability of English for Speakers of Other Languages courses; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I announced in October 2006 the withdrawal of automatic fee remission from courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from August 2007. This move follows significant growth in spend on ESOL, which tripled between 2001 and 2005. At the same time, however, learners from priority groups who need to improve their English skills for employability and integration are finding it increasingly difficult to access the help they need quickly. The change to fee remission policy will help us to focus limited resources on those learners who most need our support.
	Those learners in receipt of benefits or on working tax credit will be eligible for full fee remission. However, the Government will continue to support the cost of learning for those who are asked for a contribution and will fund around 77 per cent. of the overall cost of learning. It is reasonable that where employers are benefiting from the opportunity to recruit in large numbers from outside the UK we should ask them to fund the full cost of English language learning and where employers seek training provision through programmes such as Train to Gain, ESOL costs will be considered as part of the overall package.

Foundation Degrees

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1863W, on foundation degrees, if he will list the interested parties in the further and higher education sectors with whom his Department held informal discussions.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The Department is in constant dialogue with representatives from a wide range of organisations in both the further and higher education sectors and beyond. These discussions are often essential for exploring the desirability or feasibility of policy decisions before any explicit proposals are formulated. The proposals in clause 19 (Power to award Foundation Degrees only) of the Further Education and Training Bill emerged from such ongoing discussions.

GCSEs

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of year 11 pupils at state schools in York achieved five or more A* to C GCSEs in each year since 1992.

Jim Knight: York local authority was formed on 1 April 1996 as a result of local government reorganisation, so data before then is not available. The following table gives the percentage of 15 year old pupils(1) obtaining five or more GCSEs and equivalents(2) in York local authority in each year since 1997.
	
		
			   5+ A*-C 
			 1996 47.7 
			 1997 51.4 
			 1998 48.9 
			 1999 51.5 
			 2000 52.6 
			 2001 54.2 
			 2002 56.4 
			 2003 58.9 
			 2004 56.6 
			 2005 59.8 
			 2006(3) 61.5 
			 (1) Pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August. (2 )Data from 1997 to 2003 include GCSEs and GNVQs. Data since 2004 include GCSEs and a range of other equivalences. (3) Data for 2006 is provisional. Data for all other years is final.

Higher Education

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of non-prescribed courses in higher education were funded by local skills councils in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: Learning and skills councils are generally responsible for funding non-prescribed HE courses in FE colleges. The number of LSC funded learners in further education and work-based learning undertaking level 4 and above courses was as follows:
	AY 2001/02—58,000 learners (representing 1.3 per cent. of LSC funded learners)
	AY 2002/03—72,000 learners (representing 1.5 per cent. of LSC funded learners)
	AY 2003/04—77,000 learners (representing 1.6 per cent. of LSC funded learners)
	AY 2004/05—74,000 learners (representing 1.6 per cent. of LSC funded learners)
	AY 2005/06—70,000 learners (representing 1.7 per cent. of LSC funded learners)
	Data on the total number of HE non-prescribed courses are not currently available.

Higher Education

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will assess the merits of transferring the responsibility of funding non-prescribed courses of higher education in further education colleges from the Learning and Skills Council to the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 10 January 2007
	It is vital that we secure effective progression pathways for people looking to continue learning beyond level 3 either through further or higher education. Within their funding responsibilities, both the Learning and Skills Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for England have made important contributions to developing non-traditional pathways, particularly for people seeking to progress through the vocational route. Within our wider discussions with the funding councils about the future development of higher level skills and learning, we are considering whether there is a more effective way of organising responsibilities for funding the provision of non-prescribed higher education. Our further consideration of the issues will be set in the context of the changes needed to deliver the ambitions for higher level skills set out in the report from Lord Leitch on the UK's future skills needs. We have asked the two funding councils to work together to assess the issues relating to the current funding of higher level skills provision and to make appropriate recommendations. There are a number of complex issues to be considered and we do not expect to reach conclusions before the summer.

Higher Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the costs of  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time students to an higher education institution.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 11 January 2007
	This is a matter for the Higher Education Funding Council for England. However, to improve the accuracy of any relative assessment of this sort, it will be helpful to have comprehensive data on the full economic costs of teaching students in different circumstances, taking account of the relative costs of different subjects as well as mode of study. Such data will start to become available during 2007.

Inner-London Supplements

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will review the process whereby outer London boroughs have to pay inner London supplements to their teaching employees without compensation from central Government as received by inner London boroughs.

Jim Knight: The London pay areas are long established and there are no current plans to examine the case for changing them. Because Dedicated Schools Grant distributions are based on spend in the 2005/06, variations in expenditure between each local authority will be taken into account in the levels of funding they receive.

Nuclear Skills Academy

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made on the establishment of the Nuclear Skills Academy.

Phil Hope: A proposal for a national skills academy covering the nuclear industry was among four proposals chosen by the employer-led selection panel from the second round of bids received in the summer of last year. The four successful bidders were announced on 31 October and invited to produce detailed business plans with the support of the Learning and Skills Council. Business planning commenced in November 2006 and it is hoped will be completed by May 2007. Only when a business plan is judged to meet the rigorous criteria set for national skills academies, including being able to demonstrate sponsorship from employers and good prospects for sustainability, is an academy recommended for approval by Ministers.

PE and School Sports

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made with the PE and Schools Sports consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There has been no formal consultation on the PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy. However, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority will be consulting formally on the revised secondary national curriculum in February. This will include the revised programmes of study for physical education.

Religious and Islamic Studies (Funding)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has undertaken into to what degree university departments of  (a) religious and  (b) Islamic studies are funded from overseas sources; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 11 January 2007
	We do not collect data on overseas funding at the level of individual university departments. Data is collected through the Higher Education Statistics Agency on income from overseas sources but not below the level of individual institutions. In 2003/04 (the latest year for which we have detailed figures), the total income across the sector in England from non-EU overseas sources was £125 million from Research Grants and Contracts and £55 million from Other Services Rendered.

University Staff: Pay

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of pay increases for university staff on institutions with no full time students.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Since pay is a matter for higher education institutions themselves, as independent autonomous bodies, we have made no such assessment for any type of institution.

Veils

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of pupils in schools wearing hijabs or other veils.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Vocational Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have been assisted by centres for vocational education since their inception.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council as it leads on the delivery of Centres for Vocational Excellence. Mark Haysom, the chief executive of the Learning and Skills Council, has written to the hon. Member with the information on the number of students assisted by Centres of Vocational Excellence since their inception and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 8 December 2006:
	Thank you for your query regarding the total funding of the CoVE programme and the number of learners affected by CoVE since its inception in Sept 2001.
	In response, please find attached a spreadsheet containing information answering your queries.
	Please note however:
	Learner Numbers
	Learners are only counted if any of their programme was indicated as CoVE learning
	Learner numbers are rounded to the nearest 100 learners
	There is a known under-count of CoVE learners in 2002/03
	Learner counts are by year—if a learner was enrolled on a 2 year program—that learner would be counted in each year
	For 2001/02—recording of CoVE learners was not possible
	Learner recording system does not include non LSC funded provision
	Financial Information
	Financial projections are accurate as of December 2006
	Changes in status of CoVEs could delay payments across financial years
	Removal/withdrawal of status will reduce the total cost of the programme.
	
		
			  Numbers of learners indicated as being on CoVE provision 
			  Academic year  FE Learners  WBL Learners  Total 
			 2001/02 (1)— (1)— — 
			 2002/03 50,400 1,100 51,500 
			 2003/04 91,200 4,200 95,400 
			 2004/05 126,900 7,200 134,100 
			 2005/06 161,600 10,700 172,300 
			 Total 430,100 23,200 453,300 
			 (1 )Not recorded.   Note: 1. Learners are only counted if any of their programme was indicated as CoVE learning.  2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100 learners.  3. There is a known under-count of CoVE learners in 2002/03.  4. Learner counts are by year—if a learner was enrolled on a 2-year programme that learner would be counted in each year.  5. For 2001/02 recording of CoVE learners was not possible.  6. Learner recording system does not include non-LSC funded provision.   Source:  Individualised Learner Records for 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06. 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Revenue  Capital  Total 
			 2001/02 1,920,000 2,880,000 4,800,000 
			 2002/03 14,540,000 21,230,000 35,770,000 
			 2003/04 13,402,500 42,893,613 56,296,113 
			 2004/05 11,445,500 20,992,387 32,437,887 
			 2005/06 12,213,334 31,812,548 44,025,882 
			 2006/07 10,181,334 19,780,333 29,961,667 
			 2007/08 6,906,333 3,991,000 10,897,333 
			 2008/09 1,274,084 0 1,274,084 
			 Total 71,883,085 143,579,881 215,462,966 
			  Notes: 1. Financial projections are accurate as of December 2006.  2. Changes in status of CoVEs could delay payments across financial years.  3. Removal/withdrawal of status will reduce the total cost of the programme.

Youth Opportunities: Basingstoke

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people were not in education, employment or training in Basingstoke in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: There is no data available for those not in education, employment or training at this local level.
	The Department has a target to reduce the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET by two percentage points by 2010.
	There is a close alignment between poor educational attainment pre-16 and the likelihood of becoming NEET between the ages of 16 and 18. Our 14-19 reforms are aimed at raising attainment levels, and ensuring that as many young people as possible remain in education and training up to the age of 18.
	Youth Matters set out a series of reforms aimed at improving the way in which services work together to support young people, particularly those most at risk of underachieving.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government plan to replace the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have no plans at this time to replace the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, which was wound up in April 2005 following an independent review. The Government currently receive independent advice from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, which provides advice on the safety of proposed GM crop releases, while other existing bodies, such as the Sustainable Development Commission and the Science Advisory Council, provide expert and strategic advice on the interface between agriculture and the environment.

China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue on trade between  (a) the EU and  (b) the UK and (i) the US and (ii) China.

Ian McCartney: The first US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in Beijing on 14 and 15 December 2006. The dialogue redefined the bilateral economic relationship to reflect the 21st century global economy and move beyond bilateral disagreements over the currency, intellectual property protection and barriers to trade.
	The dialogue focused on five key areas: urban/rural imbalances in China; macro-economic issues including promoting balanced and strong growth and China's exchange rate reform; sustainable development through energy security; trade and investment; and environmental protection. There is scope for EU, UK through the EU where appropriate and US to work more closely together with China on these issues.

Christmas Hamper Schemes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward new regulatory controls on the Christmas hamper schemes and related industries.

Ian McCartney: I met the chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading on 8 November, and asked that the OFT work with the Financial Services Authority and DTI officials to look at the regulatory framework in which Farepak operated, and consider options to address any issues raised. OFT has now provided its preliminary views to DTI Ministers and we will be discussing these with OFT and FSA. The Government will also consider carefully the recent recommendations of the Treasury Select Committee in relation to savings clubs.
	The Government have already announced that the DTI's Companies Investigation Branch is conducting a confidential inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the failure of Farepak. DTI officials will seek to interview whomever they consider can assist them in their inquiries and the administrators will in due course report to the Secretary of State on the fitness or otherwise of the directors of Farepak.

Christmas Lights

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate his Department has made of the  (a) cost,  (b) electricity used and  (c) carbon emissions generated by Christmas lights.

Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Savings Trust has estimated that the use of Christmas lights would increase total electricity bills by approximately £7.8 million. This is based upon an increased usage of 75 GWh, which equates to carbon emissions of approximately 33,000 tonnes of CO2. In context the 75 GWh consumption figures is approximately 0.02 per cent. of total annual UK electricity consumption.

Coal-fired Power Stations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to promote the use of biomass in coal-fired power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: The Renewables Obligation (RO) is the Government's key policy for promoting renewable energy. Suppliers of electricity are obliged to supply an increasing percentage of electricity from renewable sources by surrendering Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) or pay a buy-out price. Those suppliers that surrender ROCs receive a share of the total buy-out fund. Co-firing of biomass in coal fired station is eligible for ROCs and suppliers can meet 10 per cent. obligation through co-firing. We are consulting on whether to remove the limit on co-firing in conjunction with banding the RO. Banding the RO will allow for technologies to be given more targeted levels of support through awarding multiple or fractional ROCs. Subject to assessment of responses to the consultation and passage of legislation, banding and removal of the co-firing cap could begin in April 2009.

Doha

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has made as part of the Doha trade talks to  (a) the EU Trade Commissioner,  (b) the US Trade representative and  (c) the Indian Government on (i) subsidy reductions for agriculture, (ii) tariff reductions in manufacturing and (iii) global market liberalisation in trade in services.

Ian McCartney: The UK Government have made and will continue to make frequent representations to WTO members across the range of issues covered by the Doha trade talks.

Electric Cars

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with representatives from the car manufacturing industry on the development of electric cars.

Margaret Hodge: Given the importance of low-carbon transport, the Department has been in discussion with niche all-electric vehicle manufacturers over plans to introduce electric cars, vans and trucks. Support is also provided to electric vehicle projects. For example Modec has been awarded a Selective Finance for Investment in England grant of up to £1.39 million to support the production of an electric delivery van with drivetrain developed by Zytek, a UK automotive technology company, using up to 85 per cent. UK components. Cenex, the UK's low carbon and fuel cell centre of excellence, is also supporting Zytek to convert up to 200 Daimler Chrysler Smart cars to all-electric operation.
	The Foresight Vehicle technology road map developed by the Department in collaboration with industry highlights the importance of electric drivetrain technology not just for electric-only vehicles, but also to hybrid systems including those potentially using fuel cells.

Energy End Use Directive

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with representatives of the electrical industry regarding the implementation of the Energy End Use Directive, with particular reference to the issue of smart metering.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has held two seminars with stakeholders as part of the energy review consultation process on metering and billing which also encompasses the Energy End Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive. In addition, the Department has held a number of meetings with electricity suppliers and meter manufacturers.

Energy Market

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has made to energy retailers requesting that they reduce prices in line with falling wholesale costs of energy on world markets; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem, the independent regulator, is responsible for regulation of the UK gas market, operating within a framework set by Government. We welcome the fact that Ofgem is calling for the recent reductions in the wholesale price of gas to be passed on to consumers. Ofgem indicates, however, that there can be a time lag. Within this competitive market, individual pricing decisions are a matter for each of the energy companies, and the Government cannot direct Ofgem as to its approach on prices.
	The regulatory framework provides for Ofgem to fine companies up to 10 per cent. of annual worldwide turnover if it finds evidence of anti-competitive behaviour. Ofgem can also refer the market to the Competition Commission if it finds evidence that competition is not working.

Energy Market

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) regulatory and  (b) self-regulatory protection is afforded to (i) domestic and (ii) small business consumers in the energy market.

Malcolm Wicks: Domestic energy customers are protected by general consumer law, by specific regulations overseen by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), and by industry self-regulation in areas such as doorstep selling, billing and disconnections.
	As in general consumer law, business energy customers do not have access to the range of protection available to domestic customers, although, like domestic customers, they may seek assistance from the statutory consumer body, Energywatch, as well as seeking redress through the courts.

Energy White Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government expects to publish the forthcoming Energy White Paper.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government expects to publish the Energy White Paper in March 2007.

Energy White Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions the Government expects to have with stakeholders ahead of the publication of the Energy White Paper.

Malcolm Wicks: Formal and informal discussions with stakeholders have been a key part of informing the energy review process and the wide range of work and formal consultation we have been taking forward since publishing the Energy Review report in July 2006. We will continue these discussions in the lead up to the Energy White Paper.

Energy White Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make the distinction in the Energy White Paper between the objectives of climate change and those of security of energy supply.

Malcolm Wicks: As the July 2006 publication "The Energy Challenge" made clear, reducing carbon emissions from energy production and use, and ensuring security of energy supply represent two key long-term challenges for UK energy policy.
	The Energy White Paper will set out our strategy for tackling these challenges.

Energy White Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Energy White Paper will discuss the role of electric heating and hot water appliances within a low carbon and sustainable energy future.

Malcolm Wicks: The Energy White Paper is taking forward development of the policy recommendations made in the Energy Review, including those made on energy-using products and energy efficiency. The Energy White Paper is due to be published in March.

Enterprise Insight

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Enterprise Insight has spent on consultants in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006 to date.

Margaret Hodge: Enterprise Insight informs us that the amount spent on consultants is as follows.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004 0 
			 2005-06 (1)19,991 
			 2006-07 (2)2,996 
			 (1 )this covers a 15 month period when Enterprise Insight changed its end of year date from December to March (2 )this covers nine months expenditure to December 2006

Furniture Safety

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will provide guidance to trading standards officers to ensure consistent implementation of the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: I met the all-party parliamentary furniture group in December 2006 to discuss issues relating to fire safety regulations for furniture. While the Department has no plans to issue guidance for trading standards on the implementation of the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire ) (Safety) Regulations 1988, at the meeting I invited industry to get involved in the DTI funded Scambuster pilots for trading standards to help them target those traders that sell substandard furniture that does not comply with the regulations.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of trends in demand for domestic grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: When the Low Carbon Buildings Programme was launched in April 2006, £6.5 million was set aside for the household stream. In order to meet the higher than anticipated demand, a further £6.2 million of the total £28.5 million funding was re-allocated to the household stream on 25 October 2006. We continue to monitor the uptake of grants going forward.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been allocated to domestic renewable energy installations under his Department's Low Carbon Buildings Programme for  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Malcolm Wicks: When the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 was launched in April 2006, £6.5 million was set aside to be allocated to the household stream over three years. Due to higher than anticipated demand, we announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating £6.2 million of the total £28.5 million funding to the household stream. This will give a total pot of £12.7 million, which on projected demand levels should allow householder funding to continue until June 2008. By this time, some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, and we believe the sector may have matured to a point where householder grants are no longer necessary.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been allocated to domestic renewable energy installations since the start of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Malcolm Wicks: Since the launch of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 in April 2006, £6.4 million has been allocated to 4,370 successful applicants.
	Further information can be found at www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk, and by going to the information and resources section.

Mining Industry Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many surface workers have had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease health tests paid for by his Department since 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: 3,896 surface workers have been examined as part of the Medical Assessment Process.

Mining Industry Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the merits of further interim payments to coal health claimants where claims are not being settled due to action by contractors.

Malcolm Wicks: Where it is possible to assess the Department's share of liability, interim payments have been made.

Mining Industry Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding has been allocated in anticipation of potential claims  (a) from surface workers in the mining industry and  (b) for bursitis for each of the next three years.

Malcolm Wicks: No funding has been allocated for such potential claims.

Mining Industry Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what checks are carried out on the  (a) competence and  (b) eligibility of claims handlers to act in lieu of solicitors for industrial disease claims from miners (i) prior to and (ii) since 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: The Union of Democratic Mineworkers' claims handling company, Vendside, handles claims in accordance with a claims handling agreement (CHA) which largely mirrors the CHA for solicitors. Vendside engage solicitors where they decide it is necessary to do so. The Compensation Act 2006 introduced the requirement to be authorised by the Regulator to be able to provide claims management services.

Mining Industry Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when Stuart Bell Associates was registered as a solicitor under the compensation for miners claims handling agreement; and by whom.

Malcolm Wicks: Stuart Bell Associates first registered a claim in September 1995. At that time, the Department's claims handlers believed Stuart Bell Associates to be a firm of solicitors.

Mining Industry Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has held with Venside Ltd. on the release of papers relating to the industrial disease claim of Mr. Stephen Todd of Bassetlaw constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: No such discussions have been held.

National Grid: Proposed Pipeline

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when public consultations will be held on the National Grid's proposed gas pipeline through the Cotswolds; what assessment he has made of  (a) alternative routes,  (b) the depth necessary for the pipeline and  (c) the possible impact of the pipeline on the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and which bodies will be consulted.

Malcolm Wicks: National Grid has not submitted an application to install a gas pipeline through the Cotswolds. If it does then details of alternative routes, depth, size, and quality of landscape traversed, etc. will have to be submitted. The local Planning Authorities, Natural England and other interested parties will be consulted on any such proposal before any decision is taken.

North-west Regional Government

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the North West Regional Development Agency Chief Executive and Chair last met North West right hon. and hon. Members to discuss regional issues.

Margaret Hodge: The North West Regional Development Agency held a briefing session for all North West Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on 1 March 2006 and has since met with smaller groups of Members regarding particular key regional projects.
	The next regional parliamentary briefing is scheduled for 26 February 2007.

North-west Regional Government

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from what sources the Lancashire Economic Partnership receives funding.

Margaret Hodge: The Lancashire Economic Partnership receives funding from the following sources:
	Northwest Regional Development Agency
	All 14 Lancashire local authorities and Lancashire County Council
	BAE Systems
	Barnfield Construction
	Springfield Fuels Ltd.
	Capita
	Leisure Parks
	United Utilities
	Training 2000
	Groundwork Trust
	Asian Business Federation
	Business Link Lancashire
	East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
	Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board
	Learning and Skills Council
	Lancashire Rural Development Board
	University of Central Lancashire
	Environment Agency

North-west Regional Government

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff work for the North West Regional Development Agency.

Margaret Hodge: As at 31 December 2006 the North West Regional Development Agency had a full-time equivalent (FTE) headcount of 410.

Post Offices

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices there were in the parliamentary constituency of Bishop Auckland in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The question my hon. Friend has asked relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd. (POL) is directly responsible. The company has provided the following figures. Figures prior to 2002 are not available.
	
		
			   Number of open post office branches 
			 2002 45 
			 2003 46 
			 2004 48 
			 2005 43 
			 2006 43 
		
	
	Information relating to post office branches can be found in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how local communities will be consulted on individual instances of proposed post office closures.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Her Majesty's Government will make final decisions on the future of the post office network following national public consultations. Post Office Ltd. will then develop detailed area proposals on which there will be local consultations. Precise arrangements for these will be determined in due course.

Postal Services

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions has he had with independent postal carriers on the provision of a wider range of postal services through sub-post offices.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. This is an operational matter for the Post Office Ltd.

Public Bodies

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding his Department gave to the  (a) Technology Strategy Board,  (b) Simpler Trade Procedures Board and  (c) Industrial Development Advisory Board in each of the last five years; and how much has been provided to each body in 2006-07.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 4 December 2006
	The Technology Strategy Board and the Industrial Development Advisory Board are advisory bodies which do not receive any specific funding and the costs of administering the bodies is absorbed in the general administrative budgets.
	SITPRO, an Executive non-departmental public body, has received the following amounts of funding in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   Amount (£000) 
			 2001-02 835 
			 2002-03 1,048 
			 2003-04 1,278 
			 2004-05 l,314 
			 2005-06 l,050 
		
	
	The projected budget for 2006-07 is £900,000.

Regional Development Agencies: Funding

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding was made available to each regional development agency from the single pot contributed to by the Department for Education and Skills, Department for Culture Media and Sport, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Communities and Local Government in each year from 2001-02 to 2005-06, and what funding has been allocated to each regional development agency for 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 316W.

Renewable Energy

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been allocated to domestic renewable energy installations in the last full year of the  (a) Clearskies and  (b) Solar PV Major Demonstration Programmes.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Clearskies programme, we committed £1.6 million to 2,116 household applicants in the final year of the programme.
	Under the Solar PV major demonstration programme, we committed £4.4 million to 683 household applicants in the final year of the programme.

Renewable Installations

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure that awards of grant aid for renewable installations in the public sector to be made under his Department's Low Carbon Building Programme Phase 2 will be widely available to companies of all sizes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Grants under Phase 2 of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme are only available for installations in the public sector or the charitable/voluntary sector. In order to receive the grant, the public sector body (or charity/voluntary organisation) has to purchase the installation through one of 7 suppliers on the Framework associated with Phase 2. The companies on the Framework vary in size from major utilities to much smaller scale dedicated micro-generation companies.

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In each of the last five financial years, the Department has spent the following amounts on services provided by Royal Mail to its buildings on the Central London Estate:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Expenditure 
			 2001-02 264,000 
			 2002-03 243,000 
			 2003-04 222,000 
			 2004-05 177,000 
			 2005-06 159,000 
		
	
	During the current financial year up to 30 November 2006, we have spent £99,000 on Royal Mail services.

Trade Union Funding

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding his Department has given to individual trade unions in the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI has paid grants totalling £1.5 million to trade unions on trade union led projects in the last three years.

Trade Union Funding

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1909W, on Unions 21, what the name was of the project for which payment was made to Unions 21 under the Strategic Partnership Fund; and what the purpose was of the payment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The name of the project was 'Moving Partnership On'. The payment was for activities undertaken on behalf of the project. This included the running of five regional workshops, which were attended by over 200 people from over 120 organisations.

Trade Union Funding

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1909W, on Unions 21, what the name was of the conference in respect of which payment was made to Unions 21 for its attendance; and what was the purpose of the payment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A DTI official attended a Unions 21 conference titled 'Government and the Unions, new deal or no deal', for which there was a charge.

Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans his Department has put in place to ensure full compliance with EU Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electric and electronic equipment, with regard to disposing of the equipment which will become redundant following digital switchover.

Malcolm Wicks: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006, which implement EU Directive 2002/96/EC, provide for enforcement action to be taken against producers, distributors and scheme operators for a wide range of offences. They can be liable to a fine of up to £5,000 per offence on summary conviction in the magistrates court or an unlimited fine imposed by the Crown court. Company directors and managers of companies can also be prosecuted, in addition to the company itself, if they consent to, or participate in, the offence, or if their neglect led to the commission of an offence by the company.

Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost of disposing of the electrical and electronic equipment that will become redundant following digital switchover.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on disposal costs for electrical and electronic equipment is contained in the final regulatory impact assessment which accompanied the WEEE regulations, which were laid before the House on 12 December 2006. The results of DTI/DEFRA sponsored research into the levels of waste disposal due to switchover will be published in early 2007.

World Trade

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the recent meeting of Trade Ministers of India and Mauritius on prospects for  (a) a comprehensive economic co-operation partnership agreement,  (b) the World Trade Organisation negotiations and  (c) (i) Indian and (ii) Mauritian trade with the (A) UK and (B) EU.

Ian McCartney: The meeting between the Indian and Mauritian Trade Ministers took place on the 5 January and we have yet to make an assessment of the impact of a comprehensive economic and co-operation partnership. However, the bilateral trade between Mauritius and India is largely agricultural and textiles-based and therefore it is unlikely to impact upon the competitiveness of either the EU or the UK.
	On the WTO negotiations, an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) remains UK's top trade priority and we are encouraged that many WTO members, including India and Mauritius, are discussing ways to deliver real progress on the Doha trade round.
	The UK Government will continue to work with the European Commission, other EU member states and other WTO members to ensure the momentum of the negotiations is maintained and the DDA concluded as soon as possible. We will also continue to make the case for the DDA, the contribution it can make to stimulating economic growth and alleviating poverty, and highlighting the risks of failure.

World Trade Organisation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the possible effect of Russian membership of the World Trade Organisation on Russian trade with the  (a) EU and  (b) UK.

Ian McCartney: The Government consider that Russian WTO accession will act as a catalyst for domestic reform in Russia. These reforms are vital, not least for providing a secure environment in which British companies can do business in Russia. The Government fully support Russia's accession to the WTO but under the right terms and conditions that ensure that Russia will fully meet her commitments as a WTO member.
	The European Commission has competence for negotiating the terms and conditions for Russia's accession to the WTO. The EU agreed to the terms of Russia's market access commitments in May 2004. The Government have identified key areas where the UK has an interest in doing business with Russia and has made appropriate representations to the European Commission to ensure that the UK's concerns are taken into account during accession negotiations.

World Trade Organisation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's policy is on World Trade Organisation requests that East African Community member states commit themselves to a single trading Customs Union by 2008; and what assessment he has made of the possible impact this will have on UK trade with  (a) Kenya,  (b) Uganda,  (c) Rwanda,  (d) Burundi and  (e) Tanzania.

Ian McCartney: I am unaware of any requests within the WTO that the East African Community member states commit themselves to a single trading Customs Union by 2008. Clearly this would be a decision for the countries involved.
	The Government would support EAC members if they decided that such a move would benefit them.

World Trade Organisation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect of Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organisation on  (a) EU-Vietnamese and  (b) UK-Vietnamese trade.

Ian McCartney: I am replying as the Minister with responsibility for WTO accession issues.
	The Government are fully supportive of Vietnam's accession to the WTO and welcomes the fact that Vietnam is to be a foil member of the WTO from 11 January 2007.
	Vietnam's accession to the WTO has clear political and economic benefits for the UK. The "last Asian tiger", Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and a market of over 80 million people. The UK is already a major economic partner. We are among the largest EU investors, especially in financial services and infrastructure projects. WTO membership will secure market access for UK trade and investment, and help create a stable, more transparent and rule-of-law based business environment for further growth.
	As a WTO member, Vietnam will gain from the same market access opportunities in the EU as other WTO members.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Aegis Security Services

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Aegis Security Services has been invited by her Department to tender for Government security service contracts in  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Iraq and  (c) elsewhere.

Kim Howells: In 2006, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued open advertisements seeking expressions of interest in contracts to provide static and mobile security services in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Aegis Defence Services Ltd. was one of a number of companies that expressed an interest in these contracts and their expressions met the required criteria for them to be invited to tender. Their tenders were not however successful.

Afghanistan

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the spraying of herbicides on opium crops in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: Opium poppy eradication policy and implementation is the responsibility of the Afghan government. We believe eradication should be targeted where there is access to legal rural livelihoods, as set out in the Afghan government's National Drug Control Strategy. The Afghan government has yet to make a final decision on whether ground based spraying of poppy will be conducted in 2007. The UK supports the well-explained piloting of ground based spraying in areas of Afghanistan where the security situation permits, and if the Afghan government agrees, in order to assess its relative effectiveness compared to current eradication approaches. We judge that the risks of ground based spraying in Afghanistan to health and the environment are within acceptable levels. We continue to oppose aerial spraying, as does President Karzai.

Bulgaria and Romania

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking to support the European Union in reducing corruption and organised crime in  (a) Bulgaria and  (b) Romania.

Geoff Hoon: The EU accession process has encouraged and supported the Bulgarian and Romanian Governments to tackle corruption and organised crime, but there remain serious challenges in both countries. The Commission and the Government continue to follow and support both Governments' continuing actions. Bulgaria and Romania are now key partners in the fight against organised crime. UK law enforcement agencies work closely with their Bulgarian and Romanian counterparts. Co-operation is excellent and we are providing specific assistance in a number of areas.
	In Bulgaria, a senior Metropolitan police officer has been providing assistance in co-ordinating projects across a number of law enforcement strands. These projects, which range from training Bulgarian law enforcement agencies in homicide investigation techniques to the establishment of a National Crime Prevention Council, involve personnel from a number of UK Departments and agencies. In addition, Crown agents have assisted with comprehensive reform of the Bulgarian customs.
	In Romania, the Government have supported a number of projects designed to tackle organised crime, including an initiative to assist the Romanian police in implementing the European Criminal Intelligence Model. The Government are providing assistance in the development of Project REFLEX, a highly successful multi-agency taskforce dedicated to tackling organised immigration crime which has already brought tangible benefits to the UK and Romania. We are also assisting the Romanian authorities in their fight against corruption through the secondment of a UK expert to work as the Romanian President's anti-corruption adviser.

Burma

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the prospects of opposition parties in Burma being able to campaign against the proposed new constitution in a fair referendum.

Ian McCartney: The National Convention process is not yet complete. While it is too early to make a definitive assessment of the prospects of opposition parties being able to campaign, we believe the overall process needs to become considerably more transparent and inclusive if it is to be regarded as credible in the eyes of the international community.

Burma

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Ambassador of Burma about the prosecution of State Peace and Development Council officials and troops of the Burma Army for crimes of rape and sexual violence; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the Burmese Ambassador about the prosecution of State Peace and Development Council officials and members of the Burmese military for crimes of rape and sexual violence. I raised our serious concerns about this issue with the Burmese Ambassador on 15 June 2006. We also take other opportunities to raise human rights issues with the Burmese regime. I raised our concerns with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ambassadors, including the Burmese Ambassador, on 18 September, and with the ASEAN Secretary-General on 4 December. I discussed the serious human rights abuses taking place in Burma with Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, on 27 June and 14 December. On 15 November, I discussed Burma in detail with Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs. Our Ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises human rights violations with the Burmese government, most recently when he met the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister and the Ministers for Planning and Immigration on 5 January.
	We condemn the use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war. Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, has reported a large number of allegations of sexual violence against women committed by members of the Burmese military. We believe these abuses should be investigated and that those responsible should be brought to justice.
	The UK played an active role in securing the latest UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma, adopted on 22 December. This resolution expresses grave concern about use of rape and other forms of sexual violence and calls on the Burmese government to take urgent measures to put an end to this practice.

Burma

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps she has taken to counter the use of child soldiers in Burma.

Ian McCartney: I raised our concerns about the recruitment and use of child soldiers with the Burmese Ambassador on 16 June 2006.
	The UK played an active role in securing the latest UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma, adopted on 22 December 2006. This resolution calls upon the Burmese government to put an immediate end to this practice and to intensify measures to ensure the protection of children affected by armed conflict.
	Our Ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises human rights abuses with the Burmese government, most recently when he met the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister and the Ministers for Planning and Immigration on 5 January.
	I have also raised human rights issues in Burma with the Governments of China, India, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.

Burma

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to secure the release of the Burmese dissidents Min Ko Naing, Ko Gyi and Htay Kwe who were re-arrested and imprisoned in September 2006.

Ian McCartney: Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kway were released on 11 January.

Burma

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Ambassador of Burma about an independent investigation into the recent death of political prisoner Ko Thet Win Aung in Mandalay Prison in Burma; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the Burmese Ambassador.
	I issued a statement on 19 October 2006 expressing my concern about the death of Ko Thet Win Aung. I called on the Burmese government to initiate an immediate investigation into the death and to allow independent bodies to monitor the conditions in Burma's prisons. Our Ambassador in Rangoon reinforced these points with the Minister of Home Affairs on 23 October 2006. The German Ambassador in Rangoon, as local EU Presidency, carried out a démarche the same day on the Burmese regime regarding the death of Ko Thet Win Aung. The German Ambassador expressed the EU's serious concern about the case and reminded the Burmese government that the EU had repeatedly called for the release of Ko Thet Win Aung and reiterated the call for an independent investigation into the matter.

Chad

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the recent conflict near the eastern Chadian town of Biltine and in the Ouaddei area.

Ian McCartney: We have seen reports of the recent occupation of Biltine by rebel forces and their subsequent defeat by the Chadian army. We are seriously concerned about the continuing conflict in eastern Chad and the deteriorating situation in the border regions of Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic. The escalating clashes between the rebels and the Chadian army risk worsening the humanitarian crisis and further destabilising the region.
	In the interests of regional peace and security we continue to call on the Governments of Chad and Sudan to stop supporting each others' rebels and to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli Agreement, which calls for greater border integrity.

Chad

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on recent attacks around the eastern Chadian town of Biltine and in the Ouaddei area.

Ian McCartney: We have seen the media reports of the recent occupation of Biltine by rebel forces and their subsequent defeat by the Chadian army.
	We are seriously concerned about the continuing conflict in eastern Chad and call on the Governments of Chad and Sudan to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli Agreement. We are currently working with the UN to decide upon the best option for deployment in the region.

China

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with overseas counterparts on the embargo of Chinese products made using forced labour.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised the embargo on Chinese products made from forced labour with overseas counterparts. However, we strongly condemn all forms of forced labour and regularly raise China's reform through labour practices, including re-education through labour, with the Chinese Government at each round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, the last round of which was held in Beijing in July 2006.

China

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she was informed that the US had issued a démarche to the Chinese authorities about the recent shooting of Tibetans near to the border with Nepal.

Ian McCartney: The Government are aware that the US carried out a démarche on the Chinese authorities to request further information on the incident at Nangpa La Pass shortly after it was reported. We requested information bilaterally from the Chinese Government on 12 October. We strongly supported action by the EU, which raised the incident with the Chinese Government at the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 19 October 2006, and carried out a follow-up démarche on 19 December.

China and Pakistan

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK Government's position is on the recent Chinese nuclear deal with Pakistan; what assessment she has made on whether the deal has any implications for nuclear proliferation; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Chinese President Hu visited Pakistan last November. During talks in Islamabad he agreed with his Pakistani counterpart General Pervez Musharraf a number of defence and trade deals, but they stopped short of announcing a new nuclear deal. Instead, they said they would continue working on existing nuclear projects.

Death Penalty

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which foreign governments the UK Government has made representations since 1 May 1997 on the application of the death penalty.

Ian McCartney: Since 1 May 1997 we have made numerous representations about the application of the death penalty. In that period, over 20 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. As stated in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2006 Annual Human Rights Report we and the EU have lobbied in 2005-06, among other countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Botswana, Cameroon, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the US, Vietnam and Yemen. Since 1 May 1997, we have lobbied most, if not all, countries which retain the death penalty in law. We have carried this out through multi-lateral and bilateral démarches or dialogues, and through lobbying for co-sponsorship of resolutions in the Commission for Human Rights and at the United Nations General Assembly.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the outcome of recent talks between representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Government and Laurent Nkunda; and what recent steps she has taken to secure a peaceful end to conflict in DRC.

Ian McCartney: Reports suggest that Laurent Nkunda met with General John Numbi and other Congolese army representatives in early January. It is important for stability in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the region that the situation in North Kivu is resolved. We support the efforts of the Congolese Government to do so in a way that avoids causing further suffering to the population of North Kivu.
	The UK continues to support the Congolese Government, the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC (MONUC), and other bilateral and multinational efforts to secure an end to the conflict and lasting peace in DRC. Successful elections for which the UK was the leading bilateral donor, were an important part of that process. The UK is actively supporting Congolese army reform, which is also crucial to the country's long-term security.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the imprisonment of Fernando Kutino, Timothee Bompere and Junior Ngandu; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Our Embassy in Kinshasa, in conjunction with our EU partners, lobbied Ministers in the transitional Congolese Government over the irregularities involved in the detention and trials of Fernando Kutino, Timothee Bompere and Junior Ngandu. In particular, we raised concerns over the use of a military court rather than a civilian one and inconsistencies in the evidence presented by the police and the prosecution.
	We will continue to remind the new Congolese Government of its responsibility to protect human rights and to allow freedom of expression.

Dr. Kizza Besigye

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will meet Dr. Kizza Besigye while she is in Uganda for the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary expects to attend the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda in November 2007. She is likely to hold a number of bilateral meetings with key partners whilst she is in Kampala, but these will not be confirmed until nearer the time.

East Timor

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the East Timorese Government on the findings of the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry report; when she expects the report's findings to be implemented; and what reports she has received from the UK Ambassador to the United Nations on East Timorese Government proposals for reparation for victims of violence and the establishment of independent oversight covering the police and armed forces.

Ian McCartney: Our ambassador in Jakarta, who is accredited to East Timor, raised the Commission of Inquiry's report with the East Timorese Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, on 15 November. Mr. Ramos Horta said that action rested with the Attorney-General.
	The new UN Secretary-General's Special Representative to East Timor, Atul Khare, has raised the report in a number of recent press briefings in Dili and has stressed that the Government of East Timor and the UN work together to ensure follow-up to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.
	A number of high-level figures have already been questioned in relation to their involvement in the events on which the report was based. We hope that the East Timorese Parliament will review the report over the coming months. Our missions in the UN and Jakarta will continue to monitor developments closely.

Fiji

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made on the restoration of democracy to the authorities in Fiji; what representations she has made on the case for elections to be held; and what discussions she has held with the  (a) British high commission, Suva and  (b) British high commissioner, Canberra.

Ian McCartney: On 5 December 2006 we issued a press statement condemning the military coup in Fiji and calling for a return to democracy as quickly as possible. A full copy of the statement can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391638&a=KArticle&aid=l163678514483
	On 29 December 2006 we issued a further statement following reports of human rights abuses committed by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), urging the RFMF to respect their citizens' human rights and reiterating a call for a return to democracy.
	We have made no representations for elections to be held, but have urged the military, and the interim government, to return to democracy as quickly as possible.
	We continue to discuss the situation in Fiji with our high commissions in Suva, Canberra and Wellington on a regular basis. We are also liaising closely with our EU partners and the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and the US in support of efforts to bring about a restoration of democracy and constitutional government in Fiji.

Gibraltar

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what request has been received from the Israeli Government for permission for Israeli military aircraft  (a) to enter airspace over and  (b) to land at Gibraltar.

Kim Howells: The Government have not received any requests from the Israeli military to enter airspace over and land at Gibraltar.

India

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK Government's position is on the recent US nuclear deal with India; what assessment she has made on whether the deal has any implications for nuclear proliferation; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on 2 March last year, we warmly welcome the agreement on civil nuclear co-operation, as announced by President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Singh. We believe that the deal can make a significant contribution to energy security, development, economic and environmental objectives for India and the international community, as well as represent a net gain for the non-proliferation regime.
	We believe this agreement will bring India further into, and thereby strengthen, the broader nuclear non-proliferation framework, which is underpinned by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Bringing India towards the non-proliferation mainstream also allows us to engage with India on a full range of non-proliferation and arms control issues.

Intercepts

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government have  (a) asked for and  (b) received from foreign Governments data from intercept activities on (i) elected UK representatives and (ii) members of the Royal household since 1 May 1997.

Margaret Beckett: I will reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Iraq

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the UK Government have made to the Government of Iraq on the circumstance of the application of the death penalty in respect of  (a) Mr. Saddam Hussein and  (b) other convicted Iraqi prisoners.

Kim Howells: We have expressed our serious concern about the unacceptable behaviour at Saddam Hussein's execution on several occasions to Iraqi officials at the highest level in Baghdad, including the Iraqi Prime Minister. We have made clear the UK's principled objection to the death penalty and stressed that any further executions that are implemented should be carried out with respect and dignity.

Libya

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Government of Libya since 19 December 2006 on the sentencing to death of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in relation to children being infected by HIV.

Kim Howells: The presidency of the EU issued a statement in reaction to the verdict of the Libyan court on 19 December, reflecting UK concerns about this issue. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not made separate representations to the Government of Libya about this. However, Ministers and senior officials raise the issue regularly with the Libyans and have done so throughout the trial process. I last did so with the Libyan Europe Minister on 28 November.
	We remain concerned about the case, which is a tragedy for both the medical staff and the infected children and their families. We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue our efforts to encourage a solution to this case leading to the release of the medical staff.

Malta

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid and assistance she has provided to the Foulkes family in the Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency in relation to the return of property left in Malta following the death of a member of the family in that country.

Geoff Hoon: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to him on 10 January,  Official Report, column 588W. At the request of the Foulkes family, consular officials have liaised with the Maltese authorities to obtain and return personal items that belonged to Mr. Foulkes. The police authorities withheld some items of a technical nature to assist with their investigation. Once these are released we will seek to return them to the Foulkes family as soon as we are able.

Morocco

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on relations between Morocco and the United Kingdom.

Kim Howells: The UK's relations with Morocco continue to grow stronger.
	The Government are committed to further broaden and deepen UK/Morocco co-operation. This includes supporting the Moroccan Government's plans for economic and social development, and developing co-operation in areas of shared interest and concern, e.g. tackling the threat from international terrorism and the challenges presented by regional migration.
	In order to take forward these objectives the UK and Morocco have set up an annual Ministerial Dialogue Forum between the two countries. I co-chaired the inaugural session in Rabat in June 2006 and look forward to a second round of the Forum in London later this year.

Nuclear Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the agreement with the US under which the UK acquires nuclear submarine-related technologies required by way of reciprocation the UK to support the US in armed conflicts under certain circumstances.

Geoff Hoon: No.

Nuclear Weapons

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals her Department will present at the May 2007 Preparatory Committee meeting of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government are strongly committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), which is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The UK is determined to make every effort to ensure that this review cycle results in a positive and substantive final document. We look forward to working with states parties, including allies and EU partners, before and during the May 2007 NPT Preparatory Committee where the groundwork for this can be laid. The UK statement to the Preparatory Committee will be placed in the Library of the House once it has been made.

Nuclear Weapons

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she will attend the forthcoming preparatory committee meeting of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, in Geneva in May; which  (a) other ministers and  (b) officials will attend; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK delegation to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee in Vienna in May will be headed by Ambassador John Duncan, the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He will be accompanied by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Trade and Industry. No decision has yet been made on Ministerial attendance. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today (UIN 115555).

Nuclear Weapons

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) foreign policy and  (b) diplomatic considerations support the Government's decision to commence the replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system in 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The foreign policy and diplomatic considerations relevant to the decision to maintain our deterrent are detailed in the December 2006 White Paper "The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Weapons". A copy of this document has been placed in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Weapons

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals her Department will present to the May 2007 Preparatory Committee meeting of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to reduce the arsenals of the declared nuclear weapons states.

Kim Howells: The Government are strongly committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), which is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The UK is determined to make every effort to ensure that this review cycle results in a positive and substantive final document. We will work with allies and EU partners at the May 2007 NPT Preparatory Committee to lay the groundwork for this. We have already made a contribution by announcing, in the White Paper on the Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent, a further 20 per cent. cut in our warhead stockpile.

Nuclear Weapons

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice she has received from her officials supporting the view that it is necessary to make a decision on Trident replacement in 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence jointly produced the White Paper on the Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent. FCO officials were closely involved in all the preparatory analysis, including the realistic life of the Vanguard class ballistic missile submarines and the time required to develop replacements. The outcome of these discussions was that if we were to maintain unbroken deterrent capability, decisions needed to be taken now on whether to replace those submarines.

OECD Anti-bribery Convention: UK Compliance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the UK's record of compliance with the 1999 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti Bribery Convention; and what enquiries have been made by the OECD regarding UK compliance since the beginning of December 2006.

Ian McCartney: The Working Group on Bribery (WGB) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) monitors implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention through a system of peer review.
	In its December 1999 "phase 1" evaluation of the UK's legislative compliance with the convention, the WGB said that it was
	"not in a position to determine that the UK laws are in compliance with the standards under the convention."
	The OECD conducted a follow-up review after the introduction of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, whose part 12 amended the scope of UK law as it relates to bribery. The WGB's "phase 1bis" evaluation, published in March 2003, concluded:
	"...the UK law now addresses the requirements set forth in the convention".
	In a separate cycle of reviews, the WGB assesses all aspects of parties' implementation of the convention—from awareness-raising to administrative processes and legal enforcement. The "phase 2" report on the UK was published in March 2005. It commended a number of aspects of our anti-bribery framework, such as employee whistleblower protection, the ability of the tax authorities to make spontaneous disclosures of suspicious information to law enforcement agencies and the wide scope of the "regulated sector" in our anti-money-laundering reporting regime. The report also noted the Government's support provided to a range of private sector and civil society anti-corruption initiatives. In addition, the report made a number of recommendations for further action, for example in our awareness-raising efforts, on investigation and prosecution and on working with the Crown dependencies and overseas territories. In line with the standard procedure, the UK gave an oral progress report to the WGB in March 2006 and we will be submitting a written report in March this year. I will place a copy of this report in the Library of the House after the WGB plenary discussion in March.
	The chair of the working group wrote in December 2006 to explore the reasons for the Serious Fraud Office's decision to discontinue its investigation into bribery allegations against British Aerospace with respect to Saudi Arabia. Contacts with the chair continue and the UK delegation will discuss questions other delegations may have at the next plenary meeting on 16-18 January 2007.

Overseas Convictions and Arrests

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are in place for British consular staff to inform  (a) the Home Office and  (b) British police of convictions of British citizens (i) when they have been involved in a case and (ii) if they are notified locally of a case.

Kim Howells: If we become aware, either through providing consular assistance or notification from the local authorities, that a British national has been convicted of a serious crime overseas, we notify the Serious Organised Crime Agency, which is a non-departmental body of the Home Office.

Palestine

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the Israeli Occupation Authority meets its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to ensure access of Palestinians to education in the Occupied Territories.

Kim Howells: We are concerned about the current movement restrictions placed on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. This includes the impact these restrictions have on Palestinian students. We regularly raise our concerns about freedom of movement restrictions in and between the West Bank and Gaza with the Government of Israel. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about this with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on 2 January 2007.

Reframing the Debate

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the estimated cost will be of the initiatives set out in the paper Reframing the Debate, prepared by the Government's Head of Communication, broken down by  (a) programme,  (b) staff and  (c) other costs.

Geoff Hoon: There is no new budget or staff resource to implement these recommendations. The Government have always been committed to engaging with the UK public to generate greater awareness and a mature debate about EU issues. These recommendations are designed to improve the effectiveness of the Government's work in this area. They will be taken forward within existing staff and financial resources in the range of Government Departments whose work relates to the EU. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget for EU communications in financial year 2006-07 is £200,000.

Somalia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made in response to calls from Somalia's interim President for a speedy deployment of international peacekeepers; what discussions she has had with  (a) the UK ambassador to the UN,  (b) her counterparts from Security Council nations,  (c) the British embassy in (i) Addis Ababa and (ii) Asmara and  (d) British high commission in Nairobi.

Ian McCartney: We support regional and African Union efforts to take forward the question of a Peace Support Mission in Somalia.
	We are in constant contact directly, and via our posts in the region: The United Kingdom Mission to the UN in New York; and the UK Permanent Mission to the EU in Brussels; with African and other governments addressing the situation in Somalia.
	We have discussed Somalia extensively with other members of the UN Security Council, which held a formal meeting on Somalia on 10 January.

Somalia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made urging Somalia's neighbour states to respect Somali sovereignty.

Ian McCartney: We have urged all of Somalia's neighbours to respect its sovereignty and to play a constructive role in bringing peace and stability to Somalia. We believe that the deployment of a regional force along the lines of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1725 will help to create the conditions for sustainable security in Somalia.
	We have continually made it clear to all parties that we do not believe there can be an exclusively military solution to the situation in Somalia. Consequently we have consistently called for discussions to create a broad and representative government.

Sri Lanka

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of civilian deaths arising from the recent conflict in Sri Lanka; what action she is taking to encourage dialogue between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; and what assessment she has made of the current status of the 2001 ceasefire agreement.

Kim Howells: We monitor the number of casualties closely. In 2006 there were approximately 1,000 civilian deaths. Between 1 and 10 January this year there were over 40 civilian deaths.
	The UK engages with all parties to the conflict to support the peace process. We encourage our EU and international partners to do likewise. The visit in November 2006 by my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Mr. Paul Murphy), a former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and his subsequent meetings with President Rajapakse, representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other participants of the peace process is an example of our continued engagement.
	While it is clearly under increasing pressure the signatories have not withdrawn from the 2002 Cease-Fire Agreement. It remains the agreed framework for the negotiation of a settlement to resolve the Sri Lanka conflict. We continue to call on the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to observe their commitments under the Cease-Fire Agreement and demonstrate this by ceasing hostilities, ending human rights abuses and bloodshed, and creating an atmosphere for constructive discussions to further the peace process. We fully support and are in close contact with the Norwegian Government in their work to facilitate a peaceful and sustainable solution that satisfies the legitimate demands of all Sri Lankans and promotes stability, democracy and respect for human rights in the country.

Sudan

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by the UK Government to promote the protection of the rights of the Christian Community in Sudan.

Ian McCartney: The Government remains strongly committed to the protection of the human rights of all Sudan's citizens. We call on the Sudanese Government to ensure that all religions can be practised without fear of harassment or intimidation. We take seriously any infringement of religious freedom, such as an incident involving the use of tear gas at All Saints Church in Khartoum on new year's eve. We are pressing the Sudanese police to undertake a thorough investigation of the incident, and will remain in contact with church leaders. In addition, the Government are a strong supporter of the North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Under this agreement, a range of peace building commissions are being established including a national Human Rights Commission and the Commission for the Protection of non-Muslim Rights in the National Capital.

Sudan

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the International Commission of Inquiry on the situation in Darfur can operate effectively.

Ian McCartney: The International Commission of Inquiry reported in January 2005. It detailed the many atrocities that had taken place in Darfur and recommended that the situation there be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1593 in March 2005 which gave effect to this recommendation.
	In his most recent briefing to the Security Council on 14 December 2006, the ICC prosecutor highlighted evidence of large-scale massacres, targeting of civilians and systematic sexual violence. He also informed the Security Council that his office was moving towards completion of its investigations based on crimes committed in 2003-04 and expected to present evidence to ICC judges in relation to the first case by February 2007.
	The ICC will continue to have our full support for its activities. It must also have the full and unconditional co-operation of the Government of Sudan. We have made this clear to the authorities in Khartoum.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to support United Nations personnel in Darfur; when she expects the UN to provide further  (a) military advisers and  (b) police advisers; and when she expects the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to be deployed.

Ian McCartney: UN support to the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan (AMIS) will come in three phases. The UN is in the process of deploying its light support package to AMIS—with 34 UN personnel deploying to Darfur to date. The heavy support package is due to be implemented over the coming months. The final phase of support will be a UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur. We are pressing the UN and AU to ensure that this is deployed as soon as possible. It will be vital that the necessary infrastructure, training and equipment is in place to permit the full force to be deployed.
	The UK has played a leading role in international efforts to secure a UN deployment in Darfur and will continue to provide political and other support to the UN as it deploys. At the request of the UN we are providing two police advisers to assist the UN advance team with planning for the hybrid force, in addition to two military officers and one Ministry of Defence secondee who are already assisting the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations with planning for Sudan.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to seek to ensure that all signatories adhere to the principles of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development stressed the need to implement the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) when he met both President Bashir and Minni Minawi, the main signatories of the DPA, during his visit to Khartoum in October 2006.
	We welcome the commitment by the Government of Sudan at the 16 November 2006 meeting in Addis Ababa to a renewed political process for Darfur, including bringing the non-signatories into the DPA. Our permanent representative at the UN met the newly appointed UN envoy for the DPA at a contact group meeting on 5 January in New York to urge rapid progress on the political track.

Sudan and Chad

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the governments of  (a) Sudan and  (b) Chad on (i) complying with bilateral agreements, (ii) securing their common border and (iii) co-operating on stabilising the region.

Ian McCartney: We take every opportunity to press both Sudan and Chad to stop supporting each others' rebels and to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli Agreement. Christopher Prentice, UK Ambassador-at-Large for the Sudanese Peace Process, stressed this to the Government of Sudan during his visit in December 2006. Our Permanent Representative to the UN in New York did the same with the Chadian Foreign Minister on 20 December 2006 in New York. Given the importance of this issue, we will continue to press both Governments on this matter.

Uganda

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will request a special session at the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda to discuss human rights in Uganda; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, to be held in Kampala, Uganda in November 2007, is yet to be decided. The agenda is drawn up by the Commonwealth Secretariat, in consultation with all Commonwealth member states. The Government have no plans at present to request a special session on human rights in Uganda.
	We regularly discuss human rights issues bilaterally with the Ugandan Government. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, met President Museveni most recently on 20 November 2006. The UK also takes an active role in Kampala in the Partners for Democracy and Governance group and its sub group, the Human Rights Working Group. Both groups regularly review human rights issues and raise concerns with the Ugandan Government and civil society.

Uganda

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the report by HE Sir Ketumile Masire, chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group on Uganda in relation to the forthcoming meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government in that country; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Commonwealth Observers Group's report relates to the Ugandan presidential and parliamentary elections of February 2006. For our assessment of that report I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) by my hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Ian Pearson) on 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 91W, and the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 29 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 744-45W.
	We have not made an assessment of the report in relation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, due to take place in November 2007.

United Arab Emirates

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the UK has had with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on extradition arrangements; what agreements are in place with the UAE; whether these are covered by the Extradition Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: I have been asked to reply.
	Before the bilateral extradition treaty between the UK and the UAE was signed on 6 December 2006, there were two formal treaty negotiation meetings between our two countries. There were also informal discussions between officials of both countries.
	The treaty will come into force once both Governments have exchanged instruments of ratification and the UAE has been designated as a Category 2 territory under the Extradition Act 2003. Until this time, there are no general extradition relations between the UK and UAE. As I explained to the hon. Member in an answer I gave to a previous question on 12 December 2006, under section 193 of the Extradition Act 2003, the UK can have extradition relations with non-treaty partners who are party to international conventions that contain extradition provisions and to which the UK is also a party.
	The UK is also able to process ad hoc extradition requests from non-treaty partners under section 194 of the 2003 Act.

Zimbabwe

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of the Zimbabwean Government's decision to close their remaining independent newspapers.

Ian McCartney: We note with concern the Zimbabwe Registrar General's refusal to renew the passport of Trevor Ncube, owner of the  Standard and  Independent newspapers, and threats to his citizenship, which might affect the viability of Zimbabwe's remaining independent media newspapers. We deplore the serious consequences for media and freedom of expression that closure of the last two independent papers would have in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth; under what conditions or circumstances that country would be readmitted; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Zimbabwe was suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth in March 2002, following the presidential election, which was marred by a high level of politically motivated violence and during which conditions did not adequately allow for the free expression of the will of the electors. In December 2003, following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting statement on Zimbabwe, the Government of Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth.
	If Zimbabwe wished to rejoin the Commonwealth they would need to approach the Commonwealth Secretary-General and prove that they now meet the basic principles as set out in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Central Office of Information

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what environmental criteria the Central Office of Information uses in selecting companies for placing on to its roster of communications and public relations companies; whether carbon impacts are considered; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: The majority of the Central Office of Information's (COI) framework agreements were renewed in 2005 and there were no specific environmental criteria applied to the selection process, nor were carbon impacts considered.
	When the remaining frameworks become due for renewal COI will include sustainability factors, where established and relevant, in its extensive evaluation criteria.
	In its provision of services, COI does consider sustainability issues with its departmental clients, although the final decision on such issues rests with clients.

Central Office of Information

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps the Central Office of Information is taking to encourage companies on its roster to take steps towards becoming carbon neutral; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: When the Central Office of Information's (COI) frameworks become due for renewal it will include sustainability factors, where established and relevant, in its extensive evaluation criteria.
	In its provision of services, COI does consider sustainability issues with its departmental clients, although the final decision on such issues rests with clients.
	COI has representation on the major communications industry bodies (including the ISBA, the body representing advertisers, the IPA, representing advertising agencies and the DMA, representing direct marketers) and uses its position on those bodies to highlight sustainability issues across the industry as a whole.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 5 October 2006 on behalf of Mr. John Candles of Springfield Park road, Chelmsford; what the reason is for the time taken to reply; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Miliband: I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letter. A response was issued on 9 January 2007.

Ministerial Residences

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether individual Departments are re-billed for the cost of the provision of official ministerial residences which are maintained by the Cabinet Office.

Hilary Armstrong: Yes.

Publications

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many Government publications published by The Stationery Office are available in foreign languages; and what the cost was of such publications in the last year for which figures are available.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	Many Government publications are made available in foreign languages, with individual decisions being made based on the likely audience for the publication. Although The Stationery Office, a private sector company, may be engaged in publishing the English language version, individual Departments will often arrange for translations to be produced and will make these available themselves. No central information is maintained and this information and the costs could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Visits

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 277W, on ministerial visits, what the grade was of each civil servant who accompanied him on his recent trip to the Far East.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his previous question on 4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 109W.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity since the creation of his Department.

John Prescott: All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code. The costs of any such travel is accounted for in the annual cost of all Ministers' visits overseas which for 2006-07 will be published after the end of the financial year.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether special advisers in his Department have made use of an official car since its creation, excluding travel when accompanying the Deputy Prime Minister.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the reply he has already received from my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1063W.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

BAE Systems

Michael Meacher: To ask the Solicitor-General what account was taken of Article 5 of the 1977 Convention on Bribery of the OECD when the decision was made to cease the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into BAE.

Mike O'Brien: My statement on 14 December 2006 explained that the decision to discontinue the investigation was taken by the director of the SFO. The SFO is subject to the statutory superintendence of the Attorney-General. The SFO and the Attorney-General at all times had regard to the requirements of the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

TREASURY

1921 Census

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Freedom of Information applications were made to the Office for National Statistics in each month between January 2005 and November 2006 for disclosure of extracts from the 1921 Census for specific addresses in England or Wales.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many Freedom of Information applications were made to the Office for National Statistics in each month between January 2005 and November 2006 for disclosure of extracts from the 1921 Census for specific addresses in England or Wales. (113799)
	Between January 2005 and November 2006 the Office for National Statistics received a total of 19 requests for information from the 1921 Census, under the Freedom of Information Act. The attached table breaks these requests down by month.
	
		
			  FOI requests for 1921 Census. 
			   Number of requests 
			 January 2005 — 
			 February 2005 2 
			 March 2005 5 
			 April 2005 — 
			 May 2005 — 
			 June 2005 — 
			 July 2005 — 
			 August 2005 1 
			 September 2005 2 
			 October 2005 — 
			 November 2005 — 
			 December 2005 — 
			 January 2006 1 
			 February 2006 2 
			 March 2006 — 
			 April 2006 — 
			 May 2006 2 
			 June 2006 1 
			 July 2006 1 
			 August 2006 1 
			 September 2006 — 
			 October 2006 — 
			 November 2006 1 
			 Total 19

Benefits Take-up

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the take up rate is of  (a) child benefit,  (b) child tax credit and  (c) working tax credit in Wimbledon.

Dawn Primarolo: Take-up rates for child benefit and child and working tax credit are not available by constituency.
	It is estimated that approximately 98 per cent. of families in the UK claim child benefit.
	Estimates of take-up rates for child and working tax credits in 2003-04, including breakdown by country and region, are detailed in the HMRC publication "Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Take-up Rates 2003-04", which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-take-up.htm

Bilderberg Group

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in which years since 1997  (a) he and  (b) other Treasury Ministers have attended meetings of the Bilderberg Group.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Breweries

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in breweries producing  (a) below 5,000,  (b) between 5,000 and 30,000,  (c) between 30,000 and 60,000,  (d) between 60,000 and 200,000 and  (e) above 200,000 hectare litres of beer in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, date 15 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people were employed in breweries producing (a) below 5,000, (b) between 5,000 and 30,000, (c) between 30,000 and 60,000, (d) between 60,000 and 200,000 and (e) above 200,000 hectare litres of beer in each year since 1997. (115186)
	The table below shows the number of employees in the manufacture of beer industry (SIC 15.96) for Great Britain for each year from 1998 to 2004. A breakdown of employment by the volume of output of businesses within the industry is not available.
	
		
			  Number of employees in the manufacturing of beer industry, Great Britain, 1998 to 2004 
			   Number of employees (thousand) 
			 1998 19.7 
			 1999 20.6 
			 2000 19.5 
			 2001 20.7 
			 2002 17.8 
			 2003 18.4 
			 2004 16.5

Building Schools for the Future

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer above what threshold expenditure by the Department for Education and Skills on the Building Schools for the Future programme must be approved by his Department.

Stephen Timms: Under the delegated authorities agreement between the Department for Education and Skills and HM Treasury, capital projects of a value of £100 million or more are subject to HM Treasury approval.
	Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is being delivered over 15 waves of investment. HM Treasury will approve the strategic objectives and outcomes for each wave of BSF.

Building Schools for the Future

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which year is Year One of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Stephen Timms: Year One of Building Schools for the Future was 2005-06. This was the year in which the first large-scale investment became available for projects in wave one.

Candlemaking

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will evaluate the effect of import duties applicable to materials used by candlemakers on the competitiveness of the UK candlemaking industry; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department has no current plans to carry out such an evaluation.

City Bonuses

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate how much of the City bonuses paid at the end of 2006 was paid  (a) via offshore trusts and  (b) in currencies other than sterling, euros or dollars; and if he will estimate the effect on the tax liabilities of the recipients of those means of payment.

Dawn Primarolo: The information about the way in which City bonuses are paid is not available.

Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance produced by the Office of Government Commerce on the use of consultants.

John Healey: I have arranged for a copy of "Delivering Value from Consultants: a guide for public sector clients and suppliers" published in October 2006 to be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Overspend

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, column 393W, on departmental overspend, what the Department of Health's overspend was on its near-cash revenue resource limit in 2005-06.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 18 December 2006
	Final outturn figures for near-cash expenditure in 2005-06 have not yet been published.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's expenditure on foreign travel (including accommodation) was in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

John Healey: For expenditure in 2005-06, I refer to the answer I gave on 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 925W to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) Information on expenditure in 1996-97 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Electoral Register

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of people on the electoral register who are not eligible to vote.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of people on the electoral register who are not eligible to vote. (114107)
	I can confirm that we do not produce such estimates.
	The Office for National Statistics does collect information from electoral registration officers as required by the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001. This requires the submission of a statutory form of factual information every December. The form does not though require electoral registration officers to make an estimate of the number on the electoral register not eligible to vote.
	We have conducted an assessment for the Electoral Commission of levels and types of people not registered to vote. The subsequent report can be found on their website at:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/templates/search/document.cfm/13545

Electricity: VAT

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider reducing VAT on electricity for people with disabilities who have to charge the batteries on their wheelchairs; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The supply of electricity for domestic use, including that used to charge wheelchair batteries in the home, is already liable to a reduced rate of VAT of 5 per cent. This is the lowest rate possible under our VAT agreements with our European partners.

Fuel Taxation

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations the European Commission has made to the Government on the fuel taxation regime for recreational aviation.

John Healey: In its Communication of 4 December 2006 (reference 16190/06 (Com(2006)742)), the European Commission confirmed that it would not be submitting a proposal to the European Council of Ministers for renewal of the UK's derogation from the Energy Products Directive allowing a reduced rate of duty on fuel used in private pleasure flying.
	There is no immediate change from 1 January as consultation with the aviation sector on implementation is needed and appropriate legislation will have to be enacted.

Gershon Review

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what total amount has been paid to civil servants who have lost their jobs as a result of the Gershon review.

Stephen Timms: This information is not held centrally.

HM Revenue and Customs

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff at the HM Revenue and Customs offices in  (a) Rhyl,  (b) Colwyn Bay,  (c) Bangor (Gwynedd),  (d) Holyhead and  (e) Porthmadog are employed on fixed term contracts.

Dawn Primarolo: This table shows the numbers of staff employed on fixed term contracts at 1 January 2007 by HM Revenue and Customs in the towns shown.
	
		
			  Town/City  Headcount  Full-time equivalent units 
			 Bangor (Gwynedd) 3 3.0 
			 Colwyn Bay 10 9.3 
			 Holyhead 0 0 
			 Porthmadog 2 2.0 
			 Rhyl 7 6.6

HM Revenue and Customs

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost was of salaries paid to officers at the HM Revenue and Customs offices in  (a) Rhyl,  (b) Colwyn Bay,  (c) Bangor (Gwynedd),  (d) Holyhead and  (e) Porthmadog in 2005-06.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not obtainable in the requested format.

HM Revenue and Customs

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many specialist Welsh speakers are employed at the HM Revenue and Customs offices in  (a) Rhyl,  (b) Colwyn Bay,  (c) Bangor (Gwynedd),  (d) Holyhead and  (e) Porthmadog.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC estimate the number of their employees who are Welsh speakers at each location to be:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Rhyl 5 
			 Colwyn Bay 4 
			 Bangor (Gwynedd) 35 
			 Holyhead 1 
			 Porthmadog 24

Hospital Births

Jamie Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births there were in 2005-06 at  (a) the West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven and  (b) the Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 January 2007:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many births there were in 2005-06 at (a) West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven and (b) the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle. (114638)
	The latest year for which figures are available is the calendar year 2005; the table below shows figures for live births and stillbirths in 2005.
	
		
			  Live births and stillbirths occurring in West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven and the Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle in 2005 
			   West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven  The Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle 
			 Live births 1,624 1,261 
			 Stillbirths 11 8

Planning Gain Supplement

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 845W, on planning gain supplement, when the responses to the consultation paper will be placed in the Library.

John Healey: The responses were placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2006.

Private Pleasure Craft

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has undertaken of the compliance costs of ensuring that owners of private pleasure craft will only use rebated fuels for diesel-powered heating and lighting and not for navigability following the ending of that derogation;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of additional costs arising out of the loss of the derogation for the use of fuel used by private pleasure craft;
	(3)  what way the UK Government cast their vote in the 2006 Communication from the Council of Ministers on the issue of whether there should be any continuation of the derogation of fuel used by private pleasure craft under Article 19(1), third indent, of the Energy Tax Directive;
	(4)  for what reason the continuing derogation of fuel used by private pleasure craft is an instrument of regional policy;
	(5)  what assistance the Treasury will give the owners of private pleasure craft to meet the compliance costs involved in the loss of the fuel tax derogation.

John Healey: The UK made an application to the Commission which made the strongest possible case for renewal of this derogation. However, the Communication of 8 December 2006 (reference 16528/06 (Com(2006)743)), on the operation of private pleasure craft, confirmed that the Commission would not be submitting a proposal to the council for renewal of the derogation permitting the use of red diesel. The question of a vote on the issue did not therefore arise. The UK's position, including its assessment of the implications for regional policy, is set out in its application to the Commission for renewal of the derogation, and the Government's estimate of compliance and other costs is set out in the partial RIA published in March 2006. Both documents have been deposited in the Library of the House of Commons. Officials are in discussions with concerned and affected organisations to discuss how the new arrangements can be administered so as to minimise the compliance costs to businesses and individuals.

Regional Aid

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what correspondence he has received from the European Commission on auditing procedures relating to regional aid; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government receives correspondence from time to time from the European Commission, about the management of the European Regional Development Fund programmes, including auditing procedures. The Department has responded to the issues raised by the European Commission in its most recent correspondence.

Skin Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many diagnoses of skin cancer there were in each year since 1996.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many diagnoses of skin cancer there were in each year since 1996. (113870)
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2004. Figures showing the number of cases of melanoma skin cancer registered in England, for the years 1996 to 2004, are given in the table below.
	
		
			  Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of melanoma skin( 1)  cancer registered in England, 1996 to 2004 
			   Numbers 
			 1996 4,708 
			 1997 5,010 
			 1998 5,116 
			 1999 5,289 
			 2000 5,940 
			 2001 6,339 
			 2002 6,541 
			 2003 6,732 
			 2004 7,363 
			 (1) Melanoma skin cancer is defined as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10).  Source:  Office for National Statistics

Skin Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mortality rate for skin cancer cases was in the UK in each year since 1996.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the mortality rate for skin cancer cases was in the UK in each year since 1996. (113871)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2005. The attached table shows the age-standardised death rate from malignant skin cancer in the United Kingdom for the years 1996 to 2005.
	
		
			  Death rates( 1)  from malignant skin caner( 2) , United Kingdom, 1996 to 2005( 3) 
			   Death rate per million population 
			 1996 27 
			 1997 27 
			 1998 28 
			 1999 28 
			 2000 28 
			 2001 28 
			 2002 28 
			 2003 29 
			 2004 29 
			 2005 29 
			 (1) Rate per million population standardised to the European Standard Population. (2) Selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 172-173 for the years 1996 to 2000 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland and for the years 1996 to 1999 for Scotland, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C43-C44 from 2001 onwards for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and from 2000 onwards for Scotland. The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2000 for Scotland and 2001 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, means that figures are not completely comparable with data for years prior to this date. Comparisons between the data before and after 2000 or 2001 should therefore be interpreted with caution. An article specifically examining the effect of the change in classification for cancer trends in England and Wales was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 23*. More information about these changes for England and Wales can be found on the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk/icd10mortality Information on the introduction of ICD-10 for coding mortality data in Scotland was published in the Registrar General's annual report for 2000 which can be found at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/annrep/00annrep/00ap2.html Information on the introduction of ICD-10 for coding mortality data in Northern Ireland was published in the Registrar General's annual report for 2002 and can be found at http://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/financeandpersonnel/DMB/2002RG_Report/appendix7.pdf (3) Figures are for registrations of death in each calendar year for Scotland and Northern Ireland and for occurrences of death in each calendar year for England and Wales. * Brock A, Griffiths C, Rooney C (2004) The effect of the introduction of ICD-10 on cancer mortality trends in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 23, 7-17.

Tax Credits

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many compensatory payments were made in respect of tax credits in each of the last five years to Wimbledon residents; and what the cost was.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available at constituency level.

Unemployment

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the UK's adult population were deemed to be economically inactive in each year since 1997; and what percentage this was in each case of the UK's adult working population.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 January 2007
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity. I am replying in her absence. (114900)
	The table overleaf gives estimates of economically inactive levels and rates, for the twelve-month periods ending December for each year from 1997. The table is based on annual averages ending in December each year. Economic inactivity levels and rates are published by the Office for National Statistics each month in the Labour Market Statistics First Release.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Economically inactive people of working age( 1)  1997 to 2006, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted 
			  Twelve months ending December each year  Levels (000)  Rates( 2)  (percentage) 
			 1997 7,608 21.6 
			 1998 7,649 21.6 
			 1999 7,559 21.2 
			 2000 7,591 21.2 
			 2001 7,727 21.4 
			 2002 7,752 21.4 
			 2003 7,786 21.4 
			 2004 7,864 21.4 
			 2005 7,910 21.4 
			 2006(3) 7,847 21.1 
			 (1) Men aged 16 to 64 and women age 16 to 59. (2) Economically inactive people of working age as a percentage of all persons of working age. (3) Ten months ending October 2006.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Unemployment

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of the population from each of the EU15 member states were deemed to be economically inactive in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 January 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the numbers and percentages of economically inactive people from each of the EU15 member countries in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (115944)
	The estimates are available from the Eurostat website which is accessible via the House of Commons library.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Homes

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes there are in Bournemouth; and how many there were in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2003.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 10 January 2007
	The numbers of social rent homes managed by local authorities and registered social landlords in Bournemouth as reported by Bournemouth local authority are tabulated as follows. Homes provided for social rent make up only part of the housing stock classified as affordable; the remainder are provided through low cost home ownership schemes. Between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006 an additional 283 affordable homes have been provided through a low cost home ownership scheme in Bournemouth.
	
		
			  Number of social rent homes in Bournemouth local authority 
			  Organisation responsible  1997  2003  2006 
			 Bournemouth local authority 5,690 5,277 5,161 
			 Registered social landlords 1,850 2,679 2,718 
			 Total 7,540 7,956 7,879 
			  Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix

Building Valuations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Ordnance Survey has provided the Valuation Office Agency with  (a) aerial and  (b) satellite imagery.

Phil Woolas: No.

Business Rates Valuations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency plans to use automated valuation processes for business rates valuations.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency is currently considering the feasibility of using automated valuation modelling to support the valuation of properties for non-domestic rating purposes. No decision will be taken until the feasibility study is complete.

Commercial Leases

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints the Department has received from members of the public on commercial lease issues since March 2005.

Yvette Cooper: We have received nine written complaints about commercial lease issues since March 2005, as well as a number of telephone calls from members of the public, but are aware of wider concern through our continuing discussions with stakeholder and small business representatives.

Council Housing

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much in capital receipts from the sale of council houses in South Manchester under the right to buy legislation has  (a) been retained by central Government and  (b) been returned to the local authority (i) since the right to buy legislation was introduced and (ii) since 1997;
	(2)  how much the Government have received in capital receipts from the sale of council houses in South Manchester under the right to buy legislation  (a) since the right to buy legislation was introduced and  (b) since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Central Government began receiving housing receipts in 2004-05. Before then, with-debt local authorities were required to set aside a proportion of their housing receipts. The receipts set-aside could only be used for the repayment of the authority's debt. From 2004-05 set-aside no longer applied to Right to Buy (RTB) receipts as the "pooling" regime was introduced to ensure fair distribution of receipts and investment across the country, whereby local authorities paid over or "pooled" a proportion of their housing receipts to the Secretary of State to support wider housing investment.
	The proportion of the capital receipt set-aside or pooled is 75 per cent. for a dwelling and 50 per cent. for a non-dwelling asset. The local authority is free to use the remaining 25 per cent. or 50 per cent. respectively for any capital purpose they see fit.
	Data formerly collected about amounts set-aside and data collected about the value of receipts pooled by the Secretary of State does not separately identify the value of the set-aside or pooled capital receipt derived from RTB disposals. The data cover all housing set aside/pooled receipts. These include receipts arising from the sales of vacant housing land, shops, community centres, and garages that are on estates owned by local authorities, and receipts arising from the sales of dwellings made under powers other than Right to Buy.
	The following table shows total receipts set aside and pooled for the whole of Manchester, since the Department does not collect data for individual areas such as South Manchester; nor does it collect data on the amount of receipts retained by local authorities. The table also shows the amount of financial support Manchester has received for its capital expenditure programme. This does not include support to Registered Social Landlords who all have built new homes in Manchester. It also includes the amount of revenue subsidy Manchester receives for running its own housing stock. Pre 1995-96 data is available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Housing receipts set-aside  Housing receipts pooling  Housing allocations  HRA Subsidy 
			 1995-96 15,643 n/a 26,875 not available 
			 1996-97 4,003 n/a 23,230 not available 
			 1997-98 6,469 n/a 20,447 40,253 
			 1998-99 6,954 n/a 29,505 34,190 
			 1999-2000 6,577 n/a 33,324 35,049 
			 2000-01 10,605 n/a 49,029 29,209 
			 2001-02 11,825 n/a 21,264 57,727 
			 2002-03 15,655 n/a 22,809 52,875 
			 2003-04 597 n/a 21,448 48,520 
			 2004-05 36,654 29,224 24,199 45,691 
			 n/a - not applicable

County Council Chief Executives

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to what extent chief executives of county councils are allowed to engage in party political campaigning.

Phil Woolas: The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides that both district and county council chief executives hold politically restricted posts. Regulations made under that Act prescribe the extent of the restrictions on the party political activities of the holders of these posts.

Departmental Annual Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what high risk items were identified in Firelink and replaced, as referred to on page 45 of her Department's annual report for 2006.

Angela Smith: The items are listed in the following table. The Firelink operational continuity programme involves safeguarding those elements of the existing fire and rescue service's ageing radio systems, identified through a risk-assessment process as being at a high risk of failure, until replacement by the new national Firelink digital radio system. Most of this legacy equipment is in excess of 15 years old.
	
		
			  Replacement of equipment in OpCon Phase 1 
			  Legacy equipment—high risk  Replacement equipment  Number 
			 HS400 Frequency Reference Dalman Satsync Frequency Reference 250 
			 Pye RLA simulcast control equipment Dalman Cosmos 4 control equipment 15 
			 Marconi/Pye Base Station PMR Products K4 Base Station 75 
			 Various voting system PRN4004 voting system 17 
			 Remote control for paging Paging switch 62 
			 Various VHF and UHF link Tait T800 VHP and UHF link 60 
			 Mobile radio (various) PMR products or Cleartone radio 459 
			 FL5000 Microwave Link Westica Microwave Link 8 
			  Note: Original equipment has been replaced with same functionality equipment where possible.

Departmental Annual Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the fire safety campaigns targeted at ethnic communities to which she refers on page 62 of her Department's annual report for 2006 cost.

Angela Smith: Communities and Local Government invested £120,000 in the 2006 fire safety campaign targeted at ethnic communities.

Departmental Equipment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of her Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops were stolen in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of stolen computers and laptops in this period.

Angela Smith: Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. The following information goes back to May 2002, and includes data for CLG's predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (which was formed on 29 May 2002) and its agencies, The data requested on thefts prior to this date are not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided.
	
		
			   Number of stolen computers  Number of stolen laptops 
			 2002-03 — 2 
			 2003-04 — 2 
			 2004-05 — 2 
			 2005-06 1 (1)7 
			 2006-07 1 7 
			 Total value (£) 750 (2)14,600 
			 (1) This includes two x laptops from the Fire Service College and recorded as lost at the time of the answer of 13 February 2006 to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T C Davies),  Official Report, column 1616W, but subsequently reported as stolen. (2 )Values prior to 2005-06 are estimated 
		
	
	This answer does not include Government offices for the regions who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental IT Costs

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what effect on costs has been achieved by her Department outsourcing IT through the Steria contract; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The outsourcing of core IT services to Steria is currently forecast to deliver savings of approximately £22 million over seven years.

Departmental Staff

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006,  Official Report, column 699W, on departmental staff, whether any staff in the ministerial office of the Deputy Prime Minister received a performance-related bonus in 2005-06.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 7 December 2006,  Official Report, column 699W.

Design for Manufacture

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated sale price is of the  (a) affordable and  (b) market-priced homes in each of the Design for Manufacture competition areas.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 760W. The position is as indicated in my previous answer, subject to any necessary adjustments developers make to account for increases in costs and value over time.

Design for Manufacture

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects properties in the Design for Manufacture competition areas to go onto the market.

Yvette Cooper: Each of the 10 sites that English Partnerships has put forward for the competition is at a slightly different point in the process. They have different estimated start and completion dates and there will, therefore, be different dates when the homes on each site will be placed on sale.
	The start of work on each site will vary according to when issues such as detailed planning consent and contractual arrangements have been completed. The length of time it will take to complete each site also varies as they are of different scales.
	However, current estimates indicate that the first properties will come on to the market in April this year on the site at Renny Lodge in Newport Pagnell.

Energy Certificates

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of demand was for energy certificates in each year since 2000.

Yvette Cooper: There was no statutory requirement to produce energy certificates in the years 2000 to date. Some commercial organisations have been voluntarily declaring their energy performance during this period but there are no central records of demand.

English Regions Network

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding the Government has provided to the English Regions Network in each year since its establishment; and for what purpose.

Phil Woolas: The total level of Government grant made to English Regions Network since 2001 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2001-02 1,000,000 
			 2002-03 200,000 
			 2003-04 200,000 
			 2004-05 200,000 
			 2005-06 200,000 
			 2006-07 240,000 
		
	
	The main purpose of English Regions Network is to represent the collective views of regional assemblies, share best practice and facilitate inter-regional networking amongst them and to commission research work of mutual interest.

Fire Deaths

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total number of reductions of accidental fire-related deaths in the home has been in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on fire safety campaigns in each year.

Angela Smith: The information required is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Year  Deaths in accidental dwelling fires  Year  Fire safety media budget (£ million) 
			 2001 321 2001-02 (1)— 
			 2002 265 2002-03 4.8 
			 2003 302 2003-04 6.3 
			 2004 230 2004-05 5.7 
			 2005 212 2005-06 4.3 
			 (1 )Information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	Statistics for fire deaths in dwellings is recorded by calendar year. Budget for the fire safety media campaign is allocated on a financial year basis.

Fire Risk Assessments

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which estimate she has made of the cost to Government to date of making fire risk assessments.

Angela Smith: We have not sought to ascertain what Government Departments and bodies may have spent on making fire risk assessments of their premises. Nonetheless, we would expect the costs to be similar to those estimated for business and identified in the Regulatory Impact Assessment that accompanied the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. I have placed copies of that assessment in the House Library.

Freedom of Information

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests her Department and the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received since inception of that legislation that were  (a) subject to internal review,  (b) appealed to the Information Commissioner and  (c) appealed subsequently to the Information Tribunal, broken down by (i) topic and (ii) conclusion.

Angela Smith: Details of the number and outcomes of Freedom of Information (FOI) reviews carried out in Communities and Local Government and the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister can be found in "Freedom of Information Annual Report 2005: Operation of the FOI Act in central government", Tables 6 and 7, published in May 2006 by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. More recent statistics on the Department's performance will be included in the 2006 report when it is published later in the year. The Department does not collate information broken down by topic. Only one CLG case has so far been referred to the Information Tribunal by a requester, and this may be found on the Information Tribunal's website
	www.informationtribunal.gov.uk
	among the pending cases.

Funding Settlements

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has to review local government settlements; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: We have said that we do not intend to make retrospective amendments except if a major systematic error were to be discovered. I have already announced that, in the interests of making local government settlements more stable and predictable, I do not intend to retrospectively amend any year's settlement, except in entirely exceptional cases.

Government Office for London

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff were employed by the Government Office for London in each year since 1996-97; and what the forecast is for 2006-07.

Angela Smith: The Government Office for London (GOL) staffing figures from 1996-97 are as follows:
	
		
			  As at April:  Number( 1) 
			 1996 (2)— 
			 1907(3) 274 
			 1998(3) 305 
			 1999 390 
			 2000 370 
			 2001 240 
			 2002 260 
			 2003 288 
			 2004 325 
			 2005 308 
			 2006(4) 303 
			 2007(5) 273 
			 (1 )Prior to 2005 GOL staffing figures were calculated as those staff working in GOL on GOL business. Figures did not include those seconded into GOL who were paid for by their own employer. Figures up to April 2005 do not include staff on outward secondment, outward loan, maternity leave, special leave, and career breaks for whom we did not pay but who had a right of return to GOL in the future. (2 )No data held. (3 )March. (4 )Due to the outsourcing of the HR function for all Government Offices and the move to a central database, staffing figures are now calculated as those staff working in GOL on GOL business and on GOL's payroll. In addition, figures include staff on outward secondment, outward loan, maternity leave, special leave, and career breaks for whom we do not pay but who have a right of return to GOL in the future. (5 )This is based on staffing levels as at 31 December 2006. In line with the Treasury review of the GO network, GOL plans to reduce its staffing to approximately 250 by December 2008.

Government Office for the North East

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to public funds is of the planning directorate of the Government office for the north east.

Yvette Cooper: There is no planning directorate as such within GO-NE. Planning-related functions are carried out by a number of teams.
	The Planning Team deal with local development plans and individual planning applications which may be called in. Their salary costs are budgeted for as £260,000 in 2006-07. The Strategy Team co-ordinates the Government response to the Regional Spatial Strategy which will determine the development framework for the region for the next 10 years. The Strategy Team's salary costs for 2006-07 are to be £214,000, however they are expected to decrease after the Secretary of State's modifications are published in 2007.

Home Inspectors

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the numbers of home inspectors needed to meet the level of demand for energy certificates.

Yvette Cooper: We estimate that from 1 June between 2,500 and 4,500 properly trained inspectors will be needed to produce Energy Performance Certificates required for Home Information Packs and voluntary Home Condition Reports.

Home Inspectors

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the planned timetable is for the preparation of the new Energy Inspector Qualification.

Yvette Cooper: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has accredited the Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE) as the first awarding body for the Domestic Energy Assessor (DBA) qualification. City and Guilds and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) are also both intending to develop a qualification and early indications from those organisations are that their qualifications will be available from early February and early March respectively.

Housing

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to bring social housing up to the decent homes standard.

Yvette Cooper: Since 1997 we have reduced the number of non-decent homes by more than 1 million. We have increased the funding available to Councils to invest in improvement of their stock to about £1,100 per Council per home compared with spend equivalent of £800 in 1997. This is a 30 per cent. increase in real terms. On top of that we will have also made £3.7 billion available for ALMOs delivering improvements to council housing stock, and £2.7 billion for PFI schemes by March 2008. In total over £20 billion of public money has been invested in improving council housing since 1997. In addition £7.8 billion of private funding has been levered through stock transfer and private finance initiatives.
	We expect 95 per cent. of the stock to be decent by 2010 and the majority of landlords making all their stock decent in this timescale. Work will have been completed to 3.6 million homes, with improvements for 8 million people in total, 2.5 million children among them.

Housing

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bristol East of 7 December 2006,  Official Report, column 706W, on housing, what proportion of each category of housing stock was empty as at October 2005 in the south-west, broken down by local authority.

Yvette Cooper: The estimated proportions of vacant housing stock by tenure at October 2005 in south-west local authorities are shown in the following table. These estimates are based on all vacancies, including those of less than six months.
	
		
			  Proportion of total vacancies as a total of the stock—2005 
			  Percentage 
			   LA (including those owned by other LAs)  RSL  Other public sector  Private sector  Total 
			 Bath and North East Somerset n/a 1 (1)— 2 2 
			 Bournemouth 1 1 n/a (1)— 4 
			 Bristol 2 2 (1)— (1)— 3 
			 Caradon 1 (1)— (1)— 1 3 
			 Carrick 1 (1)— (1)— (2)— 3 
			 Cheltenham 4 2 (1)— (2)— 3 
			 Christchurch n/a 1 n/a 1 3 
			 Cotswold n/a 1 3 (2)— 3 
			 East Devon 1 (1)— n/a 1 3 
			 East Dorset n/a (1)— (1)— 1 2 
			 Exeter 1 2 3 (2)— 1 
			 Forest of Dean n/a 1 (2)— 1 2 
			 Gloucester 1 3 (1)— (1)— 3 
			 Isles of Scilly (1)— 2 n/a 1 1 
			 Kennet n/a 1 8 (1)— 3 
			 Kerrier n/a 1 (1)— 2 3 
			 Mendip n/a 1 n/a (2)— 3 
			 Mid Devon 1 1 n/a 1 3 
			 North Cornwall(3) 1 (1)— 20 2 3 
			 North Devon (1)— 1 (1)— 2 3 
			 North Dorset n/a 1 9 1 3 
			 North Somerset 1 2 (2)— (2)— 3 
			 North Wiltshire n/a 1 3 2 4 
			 Penwith n/a 1 n/a 1 3 
			 Plymouth 2 1 (1)— (2)— 3 
			 Poole 1 1 (1)— 2 3 
			 Purbeck(3) n/a (1)— 11 (1)— 2 
			 Restormel(3) n/a 1 14 (2)— 3 
			 Salisbury(3) 1 1 17 1 2 
			 Sedgemoor 2 1 n/a 1 4 
			 South Gloucestershire 1 1 (1)— (1)— 2 
			 South Hams n/a 1 n/a 1 3 
			 South Somerset (1)— 1 6 (1)— 3 
			 Stroud 1 (1)— n/a (1)— 2 
			 Swindon 2 1 (1)— (2)— 3 
			 Taunton Deane (1)— (1)— 7 (2)— 3 
			 Teignbridge n/a (1)— (1)— (1)— 3 
			 Tewkesbury (1)— 1 1 2 3 
			 Torbay n/a 1 n/a 2 5 
			 Torridge 1 1 n/a (2)— 2 
			 West Devon n/a 1 (1)— (2)— 3 
			 West Dorset n/a (1)— (1)— (1)— 2 
			 West Somerset n/a (1)— n/a (1)— 3 
			 West Wiltshire(3) 17 1 3 1 2 
			 Weymouth and Portland n/a (1)— (1)— 1 3 
			 n/a = no stock in a particular tenure in district. (1) Less than 0.5 per cent. (2) Information not available. (3) High vacancy rates reflect relatively small stock  Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA)—1 April 2005 Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR)—31 March 2005 Council Tax Base (CTB) return—October 2005

Housing

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were registered for rehousing in  (a) Leeds West and  (b) Leeds in each year since 2000.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the waiting list is not collected at constituency level. The number of households on the waiting list for social housing in each local authority area is published on the Communities and Local Government website in table 600. The link for this table is as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/853/Table600_id1163853.xls
	Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Housing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what temporary housing provision was made available to the homeless in  (a) City of York council  (b) Harrogate borough council and  (c) Hambleton district council in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter, and the types of temporary accommodation. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which inquiries are pending.
	Data are published in our quarterly statistical release on Statutory Homelessness, which includes a supplementary table showing the breakdown of key data, including temporary accommodation and type, by each local authority. These are published on our website each quarter, and placed in the Library of the House. Also on our website is a similar table (live table 627) which summarises key data for each local authority, including York, Harrogate and Hambleton, for each of the last three years:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/312/Table627_id1156312.xls
	Data provided include the total numbers in temporary accommodation for each year, broken down between bed and breakfast, hostel, LA/RSL stock, private sector leased and other types of housing.
	Note that these supplementary type tables are not updated with revisions, but the figures for the three authorities of interest were not changed during the 2003-04 revisions process.
	In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.

Housing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision of  (a) social housing and  (b) affordable housing was in (i) City of York council (ii) Harrogate borough council and (iii) Hambleton district council in each of the last three years; and what the provision was in 1996-97.

Yvette Cooper: The numbers of social rent homes managed by local authorities and registered social landlords in York, Harrogate and Hambleton, as reported by the local authorities and the Housing Corporation, are tabulated as follows.
	
		
			  Number of social rent homes by local authority area( 1) 
			  Local authority area  1997  2004  2005  2006 
			 York 12,561 12,080 12,195 12,128 
			 Harrogate 6,181 6,095 6,203 5,913 
			 Hambleton 4,648 4,605 4,587 4,589 
			 (1) Stock shown as at 1 April  Source:  Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, Housing Corporation (RSR) 
		
	
	Homes for social rent make up only part of the housing stock classified as affordable; the remainder are provided through low cost home ownership schemes. Between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006 an additional 295, 201 and 40 homes have been provided through a low cost home ownership scheme in York, Harrogate and Hambleton respectively.

Housing

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will re-instate the Parker Morris housing standards.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation's Scheme Development Standards (SDS) sets out the Corporation's requirements and recommendations for all housing projects which receive Social Housing Grant (SHG). It is a guide for Housing Associations and their consultants. It is also the basis upon which the Corporation will assess HAs' performance on developing housing projects. It concentrates upon design and quality issues relating to individual schemes and procedural compliance issues. The Housing Corporation has no plans to change these at the moment.
	The Government have set out their intention to increase the number of homes which meet the lifetime homes standards, as set out in the Code for Sustainable Homes. "Lifetime Homes" have 16 design features that ensure a new house or flat will meet the needs of most households. The accent is on accessibility and design features that make the home flexible enough to meet whatever comes along in life: a teenager with a broken leg, a family member with serious illness, or parents carrying in heavy shopping and dealing with a pushchair.

Housing Associations

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that sufficient provision is made available to Supporting People to finance support services provided by housing associations to leaseholders; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Supporting People grants allocations to local authorities of approx £1.68 billion for 2007-08 were confirmed in July 2006. This includes provision for local authorities to finance support services provided by housing associations to leaseholders if they assess this to be a strategic priority against the needs they have identified in their five-year strategies. Local authorities and their commissioning bodies determine these priorities locally and are expected to make investment decisions to deliver these priorities, which could include leaseholders. Funding for Supporting People beyond 2007-08 will be determined through the comprehensive spending review.
	We have been working with local authorities and housing associations to try to ensure that leaseholders are aware of the level of support they might receive from their local authority.

Housing Corporation

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has given to the Housing Corporation on the terms of reference for its discussions with  (a) housing associations,  (b) registered social landlords and  (c) arms length management organisations about the potential for stock market flotations; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The Housing Corporation is the regulator for the registered social landlord sector only. The Government have given no guidance to the Housing Corporation, or any other body, on stock market flotation by any of the above groups. While we will continue to look for ways to maximise the effectiveness of public and private provision in affordable housing and wider regeneration activity, flotation is not an option for registered social landlords under the current statutory regime.

Landlords: Antisocial Behaviour

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures she has taken to allow landlords to deal with tenants who display antisocial behaviour.

Yvette Cooper: Under the Housing Act 2004 private landlords of properties subject to the mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), and those subject to selective licensing, will be required to take reasonable steps to ensure that tenants are not causing problems within the boundaries of the property through antisocial behaviour.
	The Act further provides authorities with new powers to take over the management of individual properties through Special Interim Management Orders (SIMOs) should individual landlords fail to tackle significant antisocial behaviour problems.

Leicester City Council

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings she has had with representatives of Leicester city council in the last 12 months; and who was present at each such meeting.

Angela Smith: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has had the following meeting:
	21 September 2006—City region presentation. Rodney Green, chief executive of Leicester city council was present.

Local Area Agreements

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the research document by Henry Peterson commissioned by her Department entitled "Evidence of savings, improved outcomes and good practice attributed to LAAs".

Phil Woolas: Yes. The research document will be published shortly, at which time a copy will be placed in the Library.

Local Government Funding: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to increase the local government settlement awarded to South Lakeland district council for 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: Consultation on the Local Government Finance Settlement closed on Friday 5 January 2007. I will take into account all the representations received during consultation when deciding whether to change my proposals. I have already said though that I do not intend to do so, except in exceptional circumstances.
	The House will have a chance to debate the final proposals in due course.

Local Government Inspectorate

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has in relation to the number of  (a) inspection regimes and  (b) inspectorates that regulate local government.

Angela Smith: The Local Government White Paper set out proposals to introduce a new performance framework that will see a move away from automatic rolling programmes of inspection to an approach where inspection is triggered by risk.
	Legislation has been introduced to create a single inspectorate for local services through the merger of the Audit Commission and Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, which will retain the name of the Audit Commission.

Local Government Inspectorate

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for a single inspectorate of local government; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Legislation has been introduced to create a single inspectorate for local services through the merger of the Audit Commission and Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, which will retain the name of the Audit Commission.

Market Information Units

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what use the Valuation Office Agency makes of market information units; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency uses its market information units to request rental, receipts and/or cost information from occupiers or owners of non-domestic properties to assist in preparing valuations for the purpose of compiling new rating lists or maintaining existing ones.

Mayor of London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition of strategic importance she proposes in connection with the new planning powers for the Mayor of London.

Yvette Cooper: The draft Mayor of London Order was published on 9 January. It includes a definition of planning applications of strategic importance.

Official Travel

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether special advisers in her Department or its predecessor have made use of an official car in the last year, excluding travel when accompanying a Minister.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald), 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1063W.

Pensions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average employer contribution is, as a percentage of pensionable salary, towards a local government pension scheme final salary pension.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner), 5 December 2006,  Official Report, column 263W.

Performance Inspection

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what reductions in inspection have been implemented for  (a) good and  (b) excellent councils since the introduction of comprehensive performance assessment.

Phil Woolas: Between 2001-02 and 2004-05 the total number of inspections the Audit Commission, Ofsted, Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and Benefit Fraud Inspectorate carried out in excellent councils reduced by up to 72 per cent. and in good councils by up to 54 per cent.

Residential Land

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's definition is of previously residential land; and whether it includes the whole curtilage of a previously domestic property.

Yvette Cooper: The definition of residential land in Land Use Change Statistics, both as a previous use and a new use, is: houses, flats, sheltered accommodation where residences have separate front entrances, and adjoining garages, gardens, estate roads and pathways (page 11 of Land Use Change Guidance on the Communities website
	www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l146618
	a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. The definition includes the curtilage of a residential property, and has done for many years.

Retail Premises

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress has been made on encouraging the provision of residential property above retail premises.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 8 January 2007
	We are committed to bringing more empty property back into use and to encouraging conversion of redundant space for housing supply. We have introduced Empty Dwelling Management Orders as a last resort power for local authorities to deal with empty property where property owners refuse to deal with the problem and fiscal incentives in the form of VAT concessions and a Capital Allowances scheme specifically aimed at unoccupied space above shops.

Right to Buy

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government have received in capital receipts for the sale of council houses sold in East Sussex under the Right to Buy legislation  (a) since the Right to Buy legislation was introduced and  (b) since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Central Government only began receiving housing receipts in 2004-05. Before then, with-debt local authorities were required instead to set aside a proportion of their housing receipts. The receipts set aside could only be used for the repayment of the authority's debt. From 2004-05 set-aside no longer applied to most housing receipts as the "pooling" regime was introduced, whereby local authorities paid over or "pooled" a proportion of those receipts to the Secretary of State to support housing investment across the country.
	The proportion of the capital receipt set aside or pooled is 75 per cent. for a dwelling and 50 per cent. for a non-dwelling asset. The local authority is free to use the remaining 25 per cent. or 50 per cent. respectively for any capital purpose they see fit.
	Data formerly collected about amounts set aside and data collected about the value of receipts pooled by the Secretary of State do not separately identify the value of pooled capital receipts derived from houses. The data cover all housing pooled receipts. These include receipts arising from the sales of vacant housing land, shops, community centres, and garages that are on estates owned by local authorities.
	The total housing receipts pooled for the geographical county which includes Brighton and Hove city council since the introduction of pooling on 1 April 2004 is £22,654,183.36, and the total housing receipts pooled for the administrative county which excludes the city council £8,953,484.02.

Secure Letter Boxes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirement is made by  (a) planning legislation and  (b) building regulations for developers to provide secure letter boxes for communal blocks of residential accommodation; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: There is no such requirement made in either planning legislation or through building regulations. However, s.17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 places a statutory duty on a local authority when exercising its functions to have regard to the need to do all it reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder in its area.
	For planning purposes, guidance has been issued 'Safer Places: The Planning System and Crime Prevention', that includes advice on making it more difficult for criminals to commit offences. While letter boxes are not a planning matter, the guidance is still relevant as it talks about complementary measures that can be taken.
	Planning Policy Statement 3 Housing advises how local planning authorities should draw on a range of guidance and standards to facilitate efficient delivery of high quality development, including the guidance mentioned.

Security Passes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) staff,  (b) contractor and  (c) consultant new and replacement permanent building passes were issued by her Department and its predecessor for London HQ buildings in 2005-06.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government was formed on 5 May 2006 and this reply therefore also relates to its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. In the year April 2005 to March 2006 a total of 1,312 new and replacement permanent building passes were issued to staff and a total of 185 new and replacement passes were issued to contractors/consultants in the London HQ buildings. We do not have separate figures for contractors and consultants.

Severalls Hospital

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the sale of the former Severalls Hospital in Colchester to be completed.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 11 January 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 351-52W.

Social Housing

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with local authorities on planned new social housing in Milton Keynes.

Yvette Cooper: Officials within the Department have discussed with Milton Keynes Council its future housing and planning policies, including those related to social housing. Subsequently, Milton Keynes Council has published a draft Supplementary Planning Document on Affordable Housing based on a new housing needs study. Officials have also given evidence to the South East Regional Spatial Strategy Examination in Public on matters relating to affordable housing. Milton Keynes Council attended this session, which included discussions on the relative need for social housing at a regional level and also in Milton Keynes.

Tablighi Jamaat Mosque

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with  (a) the Mayor of London and  (b) Newham council on the proposed Tablighi Jamaat Mosque in East London.

Phil Woolas: None. There is no planning application before Newham council for such a mosque.

Unitary Authorities

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have made formal bids to become a unitary authority in the last six months.

Phil Woolas: None. On 26 October we invited councils to submit proposals for future unitary structures by 25 January 2007.

Vacant Dwellings

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vacant dwellings there were in the eastern region in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) local authority and  (b) local authority ward; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 11 January 2007
	For the number of vacant properties in each local authority in the eastern region I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Rogerson) on 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1604W. The most recent information is reported at 10 October 2005.
	A table showing the number of vacant dwellings by ward in the East of England, as reported by local authorities through a survey of vacant homes, has been placed in the Library of the House. The figures presented are for all vacancies at 31 March 2005, including those that have been empty for less than six months. Some figures are absent due to missing survey returns from local authorities.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency's definition is of a dwellinghouse.

Phil Woolas: A "dwelling" is defined for council tax purposes in Section 3 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The Valuation Office Agency has no separate definition of dwellinghouse.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether provisions in the contract between Cole Layer Trumble and her Department prevent discussion in public by the company on its  (a) Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal and  (b) Automated Valuation Model products and assistance.

Phil Woolas: No contract exists between Cole Layer Trumble and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 474W, on the Valuation Office Agency, how many domestic properties in  (a) Solihull and  (b) Birmingham are classified with the FC code.

Phil Woolas: As at 3 January 2007 there were  (a) 448 and  (b) 12,685 domestic properties with the FC code in  (a) Solihull and  (b) Birmingham.

Westfield

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what meetings  (a) she and  (b) Ministers in her Department have had with representatives of developers Westfield in the last 24 months;
	(2)  what meetings her predecessor had with representatives of Westfield while Secretary of State responsible for planning policy.

Yvette Cooper: Since Communities and Local Government was formed on 5 May 2006, there have been no meetings between Ministers and representatives of Westfield. We have no record of any such meetings before then.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much her Department spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper, including online, advertorials and advertising features, in the latest year for which figures are available.

Harriet Harman: For the period April 2005-March 2006 my Department has placed five recruitment advertisements within  The Guardian, costs are broken down in the following table.
	
		
			   Project  Expenditure on advertising (£) 
			 2005 Public Appointment 7,752 
			 2005 Magistrates recruitment 7,150 
			 2006 Job recruitment (DCA) 4,612 
			 2006 Job recruitment (PGO) 4,500 
			 2006 Judicial appointment 6,953 
			 Total  30,967

Clementi Report

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she intends to respond to the recommendations in the Clementi Report; and what measures she plans to put in place to promote the work of smaller firms of solicitors.

Bridget Prentice: Sir David Clementi published his final report in December 2004. At that time, the Government confirmed that they broadly accepted Sir David's recommendations. In October 2005, the Government published their White Paper "The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First", which was essentially a substantive response to Sir David's final report. The Government subsequently introduced the Legal Services Bill to Parliament on 23 November 2006. While the Bill contains much more detail when compared with Sir David's original report, the proposals for the most part are based on his blueprint for reform.
	As part of reforming the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales, the Bill will make it possible for lawyers to provide their services in new ways. This will include lawyers forming partnerships or other business structures with other types of lawyers (eg solicitors and barristers) and with non-lawyers. External investment will also be possible. This will provide an opportunity for all firms to change their business structures to enable them to draw more effectively on non-legal expertise and external financing to modernise and improve their business systems and infrastructure. It could also provide smaller firms with new ways of reaching a wider consumer base, which could act as a means for those operating at the margins to become more efficient and compete more effectively with larger or more well established firms.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many letters to her Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two, (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old;
	(2)  how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The information is not readily available in the format requested. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
	The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to the correspondence of Members/Peers. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78ws. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Court Televisions

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many courts have television displays available in the courtroom for video imagery and evidence to be used; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The information available to my Department on the number of courts that have television displays available in the courtrooms for video imagery and evidence to be viewed is a follows:
	All 78 main Crown court centres and 259 of the 344 magistrates courthouses have television displays available in the courtrooms that are capable of displaying video imagery and evidence. In addition, by the end of the financial year, all main Crown court centres and at least 260 magistrates courthouses will have the facilities to play DVDs in court.
	Video display equipment in civil courts is typically not centrally provided but purchased locally. The majority of large trial centres have video playback facilities and these are also usually available in family centres.

Departmental Hospitality

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how much the Lord Chancellor's Department spent on hospitality and entertainment in 1996 to 1997;
	(2)  what her Department's expenditure was on hospitality and entertainment in 2005-06.

Harriet Harman: For figures for ministerial expenditure on hospitality and entertainment in 1996-97, I refer the hon. Member to the Prime Minister's answer of 9 February 1998 to my right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham, (Mr. MacShane)  Official Report, column 17W, which provides the global figure for Government expenditure on ministerial entertaining and hospitality for official purposes in 1996-97.
	Information is not readily available for civil servants for 1996-97 as the Department updated its accounting system in the summer of 1998 and the cost of retrieval from archive would be at disproportionate cost.
	Total expenditure (ministerial and civil servants) on hospitality and entertainment for the Department (formerly known as Lord Chancellor's Department), which covers costs for Her Majesty's Courts Service, the Public Guardianship Office and DCA headquarters in 2005-06 is £113,972.
	All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety that is based on principles set out in Government Accounting.

Departmental Publications: Translation

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English was in 2005-06.

Vera Baird: The Department for Constitutional Affairs does not collect the information centrally and it could be given only at disproportionate cost. The Department is giving consideration to the routine collection of data relating to translating departmental publications into languages other than English.

Election Officials

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to review the upper age limit on working at a polling station or as an election count official in the light of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.

Bridget Prentice: There is no set upper age limit for being employed to work in a polling station or at an election count, and the Government have no plans either to review this, or to introduce any limit.
	The employment of election staff is a matter for individual returning officers.

Employment Law

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Government plan to restrict to members of the legal profession the ability to provide advice on employment law; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The Government have no plan to restrict to members of the legal profession the ability to provide advice on employment law matters.

Employment Tribunals

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Government plan to restrict representatives at employment tribunals to members of the legal profession; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have no plans to restrict representatives at employment tribunals to members of the legal profession.
	The Government have no plans to make a statement beyond this.

Freedom of Information Act Fees

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will publish the representations her Department has received from the BBC on plans to change the regulations governing Freedom of Information Act fees.

Vera Baird: On 14 December 2006, the Government launched a public consultation on draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007. The consultation closes on 8 March 2007.
	Representations made to my Department in response to the plans to change the regulations governing Freedom of Information Act fees will be published following the conclusion of the consultation.

Jury Service

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the number of people given temporary exceptional leave to remain who have  (a) been called for and  (b) carried out jury service in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: Information is not held in the format requested. However, to be summoned for jury service one must be registered to vote in parliamentary or local elections. This includes Commonwealth and European Union citizens. To be qualified for jury service one must also have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for any period of at least five years since attaining the age of 13.

Legal Aid

Dawn Butler: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department has made a recent assessment of  (a) any alternative fee systems and  (b) graduated fee systems for legal aid; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: Lord Carter considered a range of remuneration systems for both civil and criminal legal aid in his report on the procurement of legal aid, "Legal Aid: A market-based approach to reform", published in July 2006. Following the public consultation on Lord Carter's proposals, the Government has accepted his recommendation that graduated fees should be used to remunerate Crown court litigation and advocacy, and will consider whether such a scheme should be introduced for magistrates court work prior to the introduction of best value tendering.
	Early in 2007, the Legal Services Commission will re-consult on a revised care proceedings graduated fee scheme, with a view to implementing the new scheme—apart from for advocacy—in October 2007. At the same time, the LSC will re-consult on a revised scheme for family help—Private, with a view to implementation in October 2007. Regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) will be drawn up for the new schemes.

Legal Aid

Dawn Butler: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of fixed fees for legal aid on  (a) people from ethnic minorities,  (b) people with disabilities and  (c) young people.

Vera Baird: The Department and the LSC recently published "Legal Aid Reform: the way ahead", which sets out our commitment to ensure a sustainable legal aid market is in place, with a quality assured service at the heart of our procurement strategy. It was accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) that made a full assessment of the impact of the introduction of fixed fees for criminal legal aid in the magistrates court. It also covers the tailored fixed fee (TFF) replacement scheme for civil legal aid work excluding family and mental health. Copies of both these documents can be found in the Library and on both the DCA and LSC websites.
	The LSC will shortly be releasing a further consultation paper regarding the introduction of fixed fees for work in the police station. This will be accompanied by a draft RIA, which will be finalised following the publication of the LSC's response to consultation and will again make a full assessment of the impact of fixed fees in this area.

Legal Aid

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which 10  (a) individual lawyers,  (b) firms and  (c) cases received the largest sums in legal aid in 2006; and what the sums were in each case.

Vera Baird: The information for the year 2006 is not yet available. However, my Department and the LSC are currently working on compiling the information for 2005-06, which will then be placed on my Department's website.

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006 to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones),  Official Report, column 343W, on magistrates, how many magistrates in the county of Cheshire do not live within their local justice area.

Harriet Harman: We do not record whether magistrates live in the local justice area to which they are allocated. There are 471 magistrates in the six local justice areas in Cheshire.
	52 magistrates live in the constituency of the City of Chester
	27 magistrates live in the constituency of Ellesmere Port and Neston
	49 magistrates live in the constituency of Eddisbury
	54 magistrates live in the constituency of Warrington South
	two magistrates live in the constituency of Wirral South
	seven magistrates live in the constituency of Alyn and Deeside
	three magistrates live in the constituency of Wallasey
	42 magistrates live in the constituency of Crewe and Nantwich
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of Wrexham
	three magistrates live in the constituency of Clwyd South
	39 magistrates live in the constituency of Tatton
	34 magistrates live in the constituency of Macclesfield
	33 magistrates live in the constituency of Congleton
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of Cheadle
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of Altrincham and Sale West
	33 magistrates live in the constituency of Weaver Vale
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of Salford
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of Knowsley South
	40 magistrates live in the constituency of Halton
	41 magistrates live in the constituency of Warrington North
	two magistrates live in the constituency of St. Helens North
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of St. Helens South
	two magistrates live in the constituency of Liverpool, Garsten
	one magistrate lives in the constituency of Leigh
	one is unknown due to incorrect postcode being recorded.
	Advisory committees on justices of the peace follow the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor's directions when making recommendations for appointment to the magistracy. This provides guidance that each local justice area should broadly reflect the community it serves including geographical spread.

Magistrates

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what her objective justification is under the Employment Directive 2000/78/EC for section 13 (1) of the Courts Act 2003 which transfers magistrates onto the supplemental list at the age of 70 years;
	(2)  what her objective justification is under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 for refusing to appoint magistrates aged over 65 years.

Harriet Harman: The new age regulations provide that discrimination will not be unlawful if it is undertaken in order to comply with a requirement of any statutory provision. The retirement age for magistrates is set at 70 by section 13(l) of the Courts Act 2003. Therefore, moving magistrates on to the supplemental list at age 70 does not constitute unlawful age discrimination under the regulations.
	Magistrates sit in a part-time capacity and generally have little previous experience of the court system, so will require training, mentoring and the opportunity to gain experience. The Lord Chancellor would normally expect that part-time magistrates will be able to sit for at least five years before retirement, and he will therefore not normally appoint anyone over the age of 65.

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether data were collected on the average travel times of prospective users of magistrates courts when re-locations were considered; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: There has been no central collection of data on the average travel times of prospective users of magistrates courts. However in deciding where magistrates courts may sit, there is a duty to have regard to ensure that courthouses are accessible to persons resident in each local justice area.
	Departmental guidance provides for site selection on new builds to be located within 10-15 minutes walk of more than one form of public transport.

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts were capable of undertaking criminal proceedings in cases which would require imprisonment upon conviction in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The following table details the number of magistrates courts in England and Wales since 1997. All magistrates courts are capable of undertaking criminal proceedings in cases that would require imprisonment upon conviction.
	
		
			   Number of magistrates courts 
			 1997 492 
			 1998 472 
			 1999 436 
			 2000 443 
			 2001 426 
			 2002 396 
			 2003 389 
			 2004 381 
			 2005 373 
			 2006 369

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts were capable of undertaking family proceedings in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The following table details the number of magistrates courts in England and Wales since 1997. All magistrates courts are capable of undertaking family proceedings.
	
		
			   Number of magistrates courts 
			 1997 492 
			 1998 472 
			 1999 436 
			 2000 443 
			 2001 426 
			 2002 396 
			 2003 389 
			 2004 381 
			 2005 373 
			 2006 369

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what changes were made to magistrates' training  (a) within the last 12 months and  (b) in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The only significant change to magistrates' training in the last 12 months is that in April 2006 the Lord Chief Justice assumed responsibility from the Lord Chancellor for magistrates' training.
	In 1997 each of the 42 Magistrates Courts Committees (MCC) in England and Wales were responsible for the training of magistrates in their area, subject to guidance from the Judicial Studies Board (JSB).
	In 1999 the "Magistrates' New Training Initiative" introduced a competence framework and appraisal scheme for all magistrates.
	In 2002 Bench Training and Development Committees (BTDC), were introduced by the "Justices of the Peace (Size and Chairmanship of Bench) Rules 2002" to replace the Bench Chairmanship Committee, with statutory responsibility for overseeing the training and appraisal of court chairmen plus a number of other training responsibilities.
	In 2003 the "Magistrates National Training Initiative" was introduced. This refined the competence framework for magistrates, set a training syllabus for magistrates in all their jurisdictions, recommended a standard national practice for the mentoring and appraisal of magistrates, and provided guidance to BTDCs on their training functions.
	In 2005 training became compulsory for magistrates before they were permitted to undertake certain functions, the Lord Chancellor was required to provide training material for those compulsory courses and the JSB assumed a strengthened role in magistrate training.
	The 2005 Rules also created Magistrates' Area Training Committees (MATC). MATCs are responsible for agreeing the annual training plan for magistrates in their area and monitoring and evaluating its implementation.
	In 2005 the JSB and Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) agreed a "Minimum Protocol for The Provision of Magistrates' Training". This ensures that HMCS provides sufficient resources to allow magistrates to fulfil their minimum training requirements. That Protocol is renegotiated annually.

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what training is provided to  (a) prospective and  (b) sitting magistrates.

Harriet Harman: Before being allowed to sit in court the newly appointed magistrate undertakes an initial training session of three hours to introduce him/her to the bench and its organisation. This is followed by a minimum of three days training covering such topics as the jurisdiction of magistrates; judicial decision making; case management and preliminary decisions; summary trial; evidence and determining guilt or innocence; sentencing, and enforcement of court orders. This training input is supplemented by court observations. In addition newly appointed magistrates are required to visit penal establishments and these visits are normally completed within the first year of sitting. The newly appointed magistrate's learning and development is supported by a mentor scheme. Approximately 12 months after beginning to sit in court he/she will attend a further 12 hours consolidation training. Following this an appraisal will take place to identify if the magistrate has any outstanding training needs.
	Although training provision varies across different court areas in England and Wales in response to local training needs, all sitting magistrates are required to undertake a minimum of six hours training every three years. In addition magistrates are provided with extra initial and continuation training if they hold additional responsibilities, for example if they sit in the Youth Court or Family Proceedings Court. Additional training is also provided if there is major legislative change, for example to support the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. On an annual basis Her Majesty's Court Service and the Judicial Studies Board agree a national minimum training provision for all magistrates to ensure that appropriate resources are available to support magistrates training.

Mental Health Guidance

Frank Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs for what reasons the Mental Health guide was withdrawn from the Legal Services Commission's "Improving your Quality" guides and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has withdrawn the Mental Health 'Improving Your Quality' guide following feedback from the profession. This is an independent guide, written by the mental health peer review panel. The LSC has facilitated the development, but is not a contributor. The LSC is working with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and peer reviewers to provide more appropriate wording. The LSC hopes to reissue an amended mental health guide in the near future.

Public Defender Service

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many requests  (a) her Department and  (b) the Legal Services Commission has received in the last 12 months for publication of the final report of the monitoring and evaluation study of the Public Defender Service.

Vera Baird: In the last 12 months my Department has received two requests for publication of the final report of the monitoring and evaluation study of the PDS and the Legal Services Commission has received three.

Public Defender Service

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what date her Department plans to publish the final report of the monitoring and evaluation study of the Public Defender Service; and if she will make a statement on the reasons for the time taken to complete this work.

Vera Baird: The final report of the monitoring and evaluation study into the PDS was published on Monday 8 January 2007. The publication of the report was delayed for various reasons including the consideration of the interim findings of Lord Carter.

Public Defender Service

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much the Public Defender Service cost in each year since inception; how many  (a) qualified lawyers and  (b) other staff the service has employed in the same period; how many cases the Public Defender Service has handled in the same period; and what the average cost was per case.

Vera Baird: The costs of the Public Defender Service, the number of cases handled, the number of lawyers and other staff are given in the following table. Figures on average case costs for each of the years since the inception of the PDS are not available. However, average case costs for 2001-02 to 2003-04 are available in the independent report, "Evaluation of the Public Defender Services in England and Wales" (Table 5.7a p216). A copy of this report is available on the commission's website at the following address:
	http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/docs/pds/Public_Defenders _Report_PDFVersion6.pdf
	
		
			   2005-06  2004-05  2003-04  2002-03  2001-02 
			 Cost (£) 4,329,567 4,122,211 3,784,156 3,478,243 2,824,531 
			 Number of lawyers 50 48 52 39 27 
			 Other staff 28 27 23.4 23 15 
			 Number of cases opened in year 5,886 4,634 4,291 3,849 1,710

Public Records

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Public Records Act 1958 Instrument of Extended Retention No. 38 was last reconsidered; and when she expects it next to be reconsidered.

Vera Baird: This instrument, which covers a wide range of records, was issued in 1996. It is not normal practice for whole instruments to be reviewed. The instrument itself gives the dates when retentions of particular records are due to be reviewed.

Public Records

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how soon after the transfer of the 1911 census records for England and Wales to the National Archives the Keeper of Public Records will have a duty to make arrangements for the release of that census under section 5(3) of the Public Records Act 1958.

Vera Baird: The transfer of the 1911 census records to the Public Record Office took place in 1966. Access to specific information in this census was subject to an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Information Commissioner's decision was published on 12 December 2006. The chief executive of the National Archives is making arrangements to provide access to non-personally sensitive information.

Solicitor Firms

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of firms of solicitors closing over the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I understand from the Law Society that 5,657 firms of solicitors have closed in the last three years. No information is available on the reasons for closure. The type of practices that have closed in the period include: partnerships; sole practitioners; multi national practices; incorporated limited liability partnerships; and foreign law practices.
	However, this figure should be balanced against the number of new firms that have been established in the last three years, which is 6,093.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether special advisers in her Department have made use of an official car in the last 12 months, excluding travel when accompanying a Minister.

Harriet Harman: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Transport on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1063W.

Supreme Court

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made towards the creation of a supreme court.

Harriet Harman: Plans for the renovation of the Middlesex Guildhall on Parliament Square have been developed by renowned conservation architects Feilden and Mawson in consultation with the existing Law Lords, Westminster city council and English Heritage. The city and planning committee of Westminster city council unanimously agreed to grant planning and listed building consent, which was granted in full on 21 November 2006. We are in final negotiations with Kier Group Plc, our preferred bidder to carry out the renovations.
	Substantial progress is also being made on the creation of the court as a new and independent organisation such as streamlining business processes, developing a finance structure and supporting the Law Lords consultation on the supreme court rules.
	The DCA is on target to deliver the supreme court in October 2009.

Trade Union Funding

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what funding her Department has given to individual trade unions in the last three years.

Bridget Prentice: My Department has not provided any funding to individual trade unions in the last three years. We do however, in line with statutory rights and along with other civil service Departments, provide reasonable time off for carrying out trade union duties.

Voting Rights

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of British citizens living abroad who are no longer entitled to vote in UK parliamentary elections.

Bridget Prentice: I have not made such an estimate. I understand that the Electoral Commission has undertaken work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to help raise awareness among British citizens living abroad of their voting rights in the UK and how to maintain them.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Scheme

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria are used to assess the levels of communication support provided for deaf employees under the access to work scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Access to work advisers are required to look at each case individually and identify the most suitable and cost effective solution in agreement with the customer and their employer. Advisers use a number of standard questions to determine both the number of British sign language interpreters required and what their minimum qualification level should be.

Access to Work Scheme

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provisions there are under the access to work scheme for deaf clients, using British Sign Language as a preferred language, who require more than one interpreter for appointments for longer than two hours.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 18 December 2006
	For appointments lasting between two and three hours, advisers are asked to look at the structure and length of the meeting, including any breaks, to decide whether the provision of one or two interpreters is most appropriate. Policy guidance has recently been strengthened and it is now standard practice to provide two interpreters for meetings over three hours in length.

Access to Work Scheme

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) necessary qualifications are required by and  (b) training is provided for access to work advisers.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 18 December 2006
	There are no formal qualification requirements for access to work advisers. Any adviser posts are filled through a competency based system in line with any other Department for Work and Pensions vacancies.
	New access to work advisers are required to undertake a training programme consisting of a four-day course specifically about access to work and a two-day module covering general disability awareness and how to work with customers with specific disabilities and health conditions.

Administration Costs

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to table five on page 153 of his Department's departmental report 2006, what the Department's administration costs for  (a) children,  (b) working age,  (c) pensioners and  (d) disabled people were in each year since 1996-97.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment including the Employment Service. The first departmental report produced for the Department was in 2002 (Cm 5424). The earliest year included was 1998-99. Therefore data are not available in the format requested for all years from 1996-97.
	Table 1 summarises administration costs for the areas requested for the years 2000-01 to 2007-08.
	Table 2 summarises administration costs for the areas requested for the years 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
	The information has been extracted from the latest available departmental report for each year.
	
		
			  Table 1 Administration costs 2000-01 to 2007-08 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			   Outturn  Outturn  Outturn  Outturn  Outturn  Estimated outturn  Plans  Plans 
			 Children 248 250 293 249 256 394 408 402 
			 Working age 3,819 2,668 2,339 2,387 2,501 2,721 2,588 2,598 
			 Pensioners — 219 419 484 571 623 641 507 
			 Disability — 1 — 172 167 198 219 198 
			 Corporate and Shared Services 280 1,692 2,556 2,657 2,493 2,000 1,975 2,089 
			 Total administration 4,347 4,830 5,607 5,949 5,988 5,936 5,831 5,794 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 Administration costs 1998-99 to 1999-2000 
			  Outturn 
			   1998-99  1999-2000 
			 Children 225 225 
			 Working Age 1,695 1,694 
			 Pensions 255 255 
			 Disability 137 137 
			 Corporate and Shared Services 1,780 1,779 
			 Total administration 4,092 4,090 
			  Notes: 1. The administration costs for previous years have been adjusted to take into account the restructuring of the Department. 2. It is important to note that the analysis of the administration budget for children, working age, pensioners and disabled people in Table 5 excludes the cost of corporate and shared services, these are shown separately in the same table. All figures provided for years prior to the formation of The Department for Work and Pensions were determined on the basis of the expenditure incurred by each of the various business areas brought together by the machinery of Government changes in 2001. Analysis of administration data in this format is not available prior to 1998-99. 3. Table 5 from the Departmental report for 2005 (Cm 6539) contains the most recent analysis of administration costs for the year 1999-2000, and Table 5 from the departmental report for 2004 (Cm 6221) contains the most recent analysis of administration costs for 1998-99. As these analyses will only have been adjusted for the structure of the Department that existed at the time the relevant departmental report was issued, they will not be directly comparable with Table 5 in the departmental report for 2006.  Sources: Department Report 2006 (Cm 6829) Department Report 2005 (Cm 6539) Departmental Report 2004 (Cm 6221)

Care Homes

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will make an estimate of the number of homes sold in 2005-06 to fund care home residency.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	Information about the sale of property to pay for residential care is not collected centrally. Local authorities also may not know if this has happened, for example where a person sells a property and arranges their care privately without involving social services. It is not, therefore, possible to estimate the number of homes that may have been sold for this purpose.
	However, the Government have taken steps to help people avoid having to sell their homes during their lifetime to pay for residential care. Since October 2001 councils have been able to enter into a deferred payments agreement. The aim is to allow people with property, but without income and other assets sufficient to meet their assessed financial contribution to the cost of residential care, to have a legal charge placed on their property to meet any shortfall. This gives people more options for meeting care home fees.

Carers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's total expenditure on carers was each year since 1990-91 in  (a) cash terms and  (b) real terms using 2004-05 prices; what the planned expenditure is in 2006-07 in the same terms; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Great Britain—Cash terms 
			  £ million 
			   Status  (a) Carer's allowance  (b) Income support—received by carers  (c) Income support / pension credit—carer premium over-60s  (d) Income support—carer premiums received by other income support recipients under-60s  Total expenditure on carers 
			 1990-91 outturn 208 9 1 4 222 
			 1991-92 outturn 285 18 3 9 315 
			 1992-93 outturn 345 50 5 19 419 
			 1993-94 outturn 442 57 7 29 535 
			 1994-95 outturn 526 73 11 43 653 
			 1995-96 outturn 617 97 14 56 784 
			 1996-97 outturn 736 111 17 67 931 
			 1997-98 outturn 746 118 20 66 950 
			 1998-99 outturn 782 116 21 69 988 
			 1999-2000 outturn 835 118 24 72 1,049 
			 2000-01 outturn 867 126 26 76 1,095 
			 2001-02 outturn 932 172 51 106 1,261 
			 2002-03 outturn 993 182 63 118 1,356 
			 2003-04 outturn 1,054 201 81 128 1,464 
			 2004-05 outturn 1,096 202 130 132 1,560 
			 2005-06 estimated outturn 1,149 173 178 132 1,632 
			 2006-07 plans 1,201 180 205 145 1,731 
			  Note:  Totals may not sum due to rounding. 
		
	
	
		
			  Great Britain—Real terms, at 2004-05 prices 
			  £ million 
			   Status  (a) Carer's allowance  (b) Income support—received by carers  (c) Income support / pension credit—carer premium over-60s  (d) Income support—carer premiums received by other income support recipients under-60s  Total expenditure on carers 
			 1990-91 outturn 308 13 1 6 329 
			 1991-92 outturn 398 25 4 13 440 
			 1992-93 outturn 467 68 7 26 567 
			 1993-94 outturn 583 75 9 38 705 
			 1994-95 outturn 683 95 14 56 848 
			 1995-96 outturn 778 122 18 71 988 
			 1996-97 outturn 897 135 21 82 1,135 
			 1997-98 outturn 884 140 24 78 1,125 
			 1998-99 outturn 903 134 24 80 1,141 
			 1999-2000 outturn 946 134 27 82 1,188 
			 2000-01 outturn 968 141 29 85 1,223 
			 2001-02 outturn 1,017 188 56 116 1,376 
			 2002-03 outturn 1,051 193 67 125 1,435 
			 2003-04 outturn 1,083 207 83 132 1,504 
			 2004-05 outturn 1,096 202 130 132 1,560 
			 2005-06 estimated outturn 1,128 170 175 130 1,602 
			 2006-07 plans 1,148 172 196 139 1,654 
			  Notes: 1. Expenditure on carers has been interpreted to include the following: a. total carer's allowance expenditure; b. total income support expenditure who are entitled to income support by virtue of being a carer. People who are unemployed, lone parents or disabled and who also receive a carer premium are counted in column d. The figures quoted include people who were unemployed and entitled to income support prior to the introduction of income based jobseeker's allowance in October 1996; c. carer premium entitlement for people in receipt of income support (for people over 60 years of age) and pension credit; d. expenditure on the carer premium for carers who are on income support by virtue of being unemployed, lone parents or disabled.  2. Income support carer expenditure [(b) in the tables] has been estimated using caseload and average weekly amount data.  3. Pension credit and income support expenditure [(c) and (d) in the tables] has been estimated using caseloads and carer premium rates.  4. Carer premium expenditure has been quoted in full. It has not been reduced, or offset, by any income received by the beneficiary of the benefit.  5. The income support carer premium was introduced in October 1990. The first caseload information was collected in May 1991, so the income support expenditure quoted in the tables has been estimated using administration data for 1991-92.  6. All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.  7. Expenditure is consistent with the 2006 pre-Budget report.  8. Carer's allowance replaced invalid care allowance on 1 April 2003.  9. Pension credit replaced income support, for people over 60 years of age, on 5 October 2003.  10. DWP expenditure tables, which will soon be updated to be consistent with the 2006 pre-Budget report, can be viewed at the following web address: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp 11. Totals may not sum due to rounding.   Source:  DWP expenditure tables, departmental accounting systems, 5 per cent. samples of departmental administrative records and the Department's expenditure forecasting models.

Carson Case

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to the public purse has been of the Carson case in the European Court of Human Rights.

James Purnell: Proceedings are still ongoing but, to date, the non-departmental legal cost of defending the case in the European Court of Human Rights is less than £10,000.

Child Support Agency

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many DNA tests were carried out on behalf of the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 15 January 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many DNA tests were carried out on behalf of the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.
	This information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of DNA tests carried out on behalf of the Child Support Agency 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 2,346 
			 2002-03 4,146 
			 2003-04 2,444 
			 2004-05 2,888 
			 2005-06 2,244 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many Child Support Agency cases were  (a) outstanding and  (b) unprocessed in (i) Yeovil and (ii) Somerset in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many Child Support Agency cases in  (a) Somerset and  (b) Yeovil constituency were (i) outstanding and (ii) unprocessed in each year from 1997 to 2006.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 15 January 12006:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions two related questions:
	How many Child Support Agency cases were (a) outstanding and (b) unprocessed in (i) Yeovil and (ii) Somerset in each year since 1997.
	How many Child Support Agency cases were (a) outstanding and (b) unprocessed in each year from 1997 to 2006 in (i) Somerset and (ii) Yeovil constituency.
	The agency begins to process new applications as soon as they are received and continues until they have been cleared. Any applications that have not yet been cleared can be regarded as outstanding. The amount of work required to achieve clearance and the elapsed time it involves varies considerably depending on, amongst other things, the circumstances of the parents and how readily they cooperate with the agency.
	As such, the agency holds only a negligible number of completely unprocessed cases and it is not possible to allocate these to individual constituencies.
	With regard to part (a), the agency can only provide the information requested for applications (both new and old scheme) operating on the new computer system (CS2). Therefore this is not representative of the overall trend and volumes of the total amount of uncleared applications at the geographical level requested. Please see the attached table.
	It should be noted that there are always applications for which the agency cannot assign a county or a constituency, either because they had been received directly via Jobcentre Plus and had not reached the point in the process at which details on the constituency of the parent with care can be identified, or because the application is on the old computer system from which it is not possible to provide robust estimates at the geographical level requested. In September 2006, there were around 70,000 such applications.
	For future reference, it should be noted that information relating to the number of uncleared applications on the new computer system in September 2006 in each parliamentary constituency is publicly available, and can be found in table 27 of the September 2006 Child Support Agency 'Quarterly Summary of Statistics', a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_ support/CSA_quarterly_sep06 .asp
	Although the total volume of uncleared applications nationally across both schemes, 247,500 in September 2006, is the lowest since comparable records began, the agency recognises that this remains unacceptably high. The agency therefore has a 2006-07 target to ensure that, by march 2007, the volume of new scheme uncleared applications outstanding at March 2006 is reduced by 25 per cent. and our challenge, as set down in our operational improvement plan, is that the agency should not have a backlog in this area by March 2009. I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications in the parliamentary constituency of Yeovil from September 2003 to September 2006 (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only). 
			  Yeovil  Number 
			 September 2003 70 
			 September 2004 230 
			 September 2005 260 
			 September 2006 210 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications from September 2003 to September 2006 in the county of Somerset and neighbouring unitary authorities (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only) 
			  Local Authority  September 2003  September 2004  September 2005  September 2006 
			 Mendip 90 190 260 220 
			 Sedgemoor 100 270 410 230 
			 South Somerset 100 310 340 280 
			 Taunton Deane 90 240 250 230 
			 West Somerset 20 70 70 70 
			 Total 4000 1,070 1,330 1,030

Departmental Equipment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops were stolen in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of stolen computers and laptops in this period.

Anne McGuire: The following table shows the number of  (a) computers and  (b) laptops that were recorded as stolen in each of the last nine years from April 1998 to date. Information prior to 1998 is not readily available.
	
		
			   Number of computers stolen  Number of laptops stolen 
			 1998 0 3 
			 1999 12 5 
			 2000 4 3 
			 2001 5 16 
			 2002 34 23 
			 2003 5 35 
			 2004 27 40 
			 2005 10 27 
			 2006 2 10 
			  Note: The total value is not available.

Departmental Publications: Translations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English was in 2005-06.

Anne McGuire: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Economic Migration

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of economic migration to the UK on the pay rates of low skilled workers; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: There appears to be little evidence of any impact on wages as a result of migration. We have been unable to find any discernible effect of A8 migration upon changes in the unemployment claimant count or in the rate of growth of wages. Our overall assessment is that the effect on growth has been largely positive.

Henshaw Review

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the additional costs to the Court Service arising from the increase in court settlements proposed in Sir David Henshaw's report Recovering Child Support: Routes to Responsibility;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the  (a) Department for Constitutional Affairs,  (b) Home Office and  (c) Treasury on additional costs arising from the increased use of court settlements to resolve child support claims proposed in Sir David Henshaw's report Recovering Child Support: Routes to Responsibility.

James Plaskitt: Officials have been involved in extensive discussions with the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Scottish Executive and the Treasury in assessing the impact on the Court Service of all aspects of Sir David Henshaw's recommendations and wider child support reform.
	Having considered Sir David Henshaw's recommendation that the 12-month rule be removed to prevent parents from being able to approach the new organisation to overturn consent orders, we have decided that the 12-month rule should remain. This rule has a positive impact on the level of child maintenance in consent orders as it ensures maintenance is generally set at a substantial level that broadly reflects the child maintenance formula. It also ensures that parents will avoid being locked into the Court system indefinitely however their circumstances change. However the removal of the requirement for parents with care to be treated as applying to the Child Support Agency if they make a claim for benefit will ensure that fewer maintenance agreements are unnecessarily overturned against the wishes of both parents.

Housing Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of housing benefit claims were subject to a non-dependent deduction for which the claimant was  (a) registered disabled,  (b) over 60-years-old,  (c) in receipt of income support or jobseeker's allowance and  (d) a lone parent in 2004-05.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not currently available.

Health and Safety Executive

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspectors were employed by the Health and Safety Executive in each year between 1996 and 2006; and how many are expected to be employed in the years  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Anne McGuire: The reply is in the following table. The number of inspectors HSE expects to employ in 2007-08 and 2008-09 is an estimate depending on turnover and recruitment.
	
		
			  At 1 April  Number of inspectors( 1) 
			 1996 1,466 
			 1997 1,442 
			 1998 1,437 
			 1999 1,497 
			 2000 1,507 
			 2001 1,534 
			 2002 1,625 
			 2003 1,651 
			 2004 1,605 
			 2005 1,530 
			 2006 (2)1,444 
			 2007(3) 1,438 
			 2008(3) 1,417 
			 2009(4) (5)— 
			 (1) All figures are for full-time equivalents, rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) The number excludes 95 inspectors (full-time equivalents) that moved from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation when responsibility for rail regulation health and safety matters transferred on 1 April 2006. 3 Estimated number based on HSE's staffing plan at November 2006. (4) HSE's staffing plan covers the period to March 2008. The Department for Work and Pensions will be discussing budget allocations for 2008-2011 with HSE over the coming weeks. An estimate of the number of inspectors at 1 April 2009 cannot therefore be provided at this time. (5 )Not applicable.

Health and Safety Executive

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the total cost was of the recent Health and Safety Executive campaign targeting  (a) back pain and  (b) tripping accidents;
	(2)  what the total cost was of the recent Health and Safety Executive campaign to manage work-related stress.

Anne McGuire: The Health and Safety Executive's initiatives on back pain, slips and trips and work-related stress are designed to contribute to the revitalising health and safety targets to reduce work-related ill health and sickness absence.
	The "Better Backs" marketing campaign cost £2.5 million overall. This included the cost of advertising—in the national and trade press, on radio, online and outdoor—plus the funding of "Better Backs" publicity events, production of information packs, and research and evaluation costs.
	The "Watch Your Step" campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the causes and costs of slips and trips accidents at work, cost £1.7 million on advertising and event organisation.
	For work-related stress, the current series of "Healthy Workplace Solutions" workshops has a predicted final cost of £627,000. This includes the cost of sending invitations to employers, processing responses, venue hire and speaker costs.

Health and Safety Executive

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost was of the recent Health and Safety Executive "Fit Out" phase campaign.

Anne McGuire: The "Fit Out" campaign in October 2005, involved targeted national inspections looking specifically at the issues of low falls and housekeeping at construction projects that were approaching completion. This activity was supported by the production of a campaign poster and campaign infosheet.
	Inspections were carried out largely within normal working hours incurring few additional staff costs.
	Production and distribution of posters and infosheets cost £5,000.

Health and Safety Executive

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many accidents have taken place on the premises of  (a) the Health and Safety Executive and  (b) the Health and Safety Commission since May 1997.

Anne McGuire: The number of accidents for the years requested are set out in the following table. The Health and Safety Commission has no premises separately from HSE.
	
		
			   Number of RIDDOR accidents( 1)  on HSE premises 
			 1997-98(2) (3)n/a 
			 1998-99 n/a 
			 1999-2000 n/a 
			 2000-01 n/a 
			 2001-02 n/a 
			 2002-03 n/a 
			 2003-04 10 
			 2004-05 17 
			 2005-06 13 
			 2006 to present (December 2006) 6 
			 (1) This includes all accidents HSE is required to report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. (2) For years 1997-2004 the primary source of information is the HSE annual health and safety report. The amount and substance of incident data in this report varies from year to year. After 2004-05 the data come from records held in HSE's human resources department. (3) For 1997-98 to 2002-03 it has not been possible to identify the number of accidents causing injury occurring on HSE premises, as the report forms used did not always indicate the location of the accident.

Health and Safety Executive

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many accidents involving members of  (a) the Health and Safety Executive and  (b) the Health and Safety Commission have taken place since May 1997.

Anne McGuire: The number of accidents to Health and Safety Executive staff for the years requested are set out in the following table.
	I am not aware of any accidents to members of the Health and Safety Commission while engaged on HSC business. The health and safety incident rates are low when compared with other organisations engaged in the type of work that HSE is involved in.
	
		
			   Number of RIDDOR accidents( 1)  to HSE staff 
			 1997-98(2) 13 
			 1998-99 7 
			 1999-2000 5 
			 2000-01 11 
			 2001-02 10 
			 2002-03 10 
			 2003-04 10 
			 2004-05 16 
			 2005-06 9 
			 2006 to present (December 2006) 5 
			 (1) This includes all accidents HSE is required to report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. (2) For years 1997-2004 the primary source of information is the HSE annual health and safety report. The amount and substance of incident data in this report varies from year to year. After 2004-05 the data comes from records held in HSE's Human Resources department.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) 18 to 29, (ii) 30 to 39, (iii) 40 to 49 and (iv) 50 to 59 and  (c) males aged 60 to 65 have claimed incapacity benefit in each of the last seven years.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit claimants by age and gender, Great Britain:  May 2000 to 2006 
			  As at May:  Female  Male 
			  2000   
			 18-29 102,250 131,860 
			 30-39 165,070 232,510 
			 40-49 231,940 287,370 
			 50-59 367,230 474,440 
			 60-65 970 353,280 
			  2001   
			 18-29 103,130 137,910 
			 30-39 172,040 245,710 
			 40-49 243,270 298,040 
			 50-59 386,210 482,180 
			 60-65 620 345,950 
			  2002   
			 18-29 112,200 149,470 
			 30-39 175,370 250,790 
			 40-49 252,820 304,470 
			 50-59 398,060 478,010 
			 60-65 540 337,260 
			  2003   
			 18-29 116,740 154,790 
			 30-39 177,700 254,300 
			 40-49 262,200 311,850 
			 50-59 407,240 472,030 
			 60-65 440 326,490 
			  2004   
			 18-29 121,260 159,380 
			 30-39 177,910 253,320 
			 40-49 270,900 318,040 
			 50-59 415,520 463,370 
			 60-65 310 318,170 
			  2005   
			 18-29 124,500 159,720 
			 30-39 173,450 245,610 
			 40-49 276,620 320,770 
			 50-59 418,990 451,930 
			 60-65 260 309,390 
			  2006   
			 18-29 124,860 157,810 
			 30-39 167,360 233,700 
			 40-49 279,320 319,770 
			 50-59 418,990 439,540 
			 60-65 150 300,750 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. 2. Although in general incapacity benefit applies to people of working age a small number of claimants are over state pension age. 3. Claimants' include all IB claimants, including credits only cases.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Incapacity Benefit

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Eastbourne constituency are in receipt of incapacity benefit; and how many of these people have been in receipt of incapacity benefit for  (a) up to one year,  (b) one to two years,  (c) two to five years and  (d) over five years.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants in Eastbourne—May 2006 
			   Number 
			 All IB/SDA 4,400 
			 Up to one year 660 
			 One to two years 390 
			 Two to five years 1,000 
			 Five years and over 2,350 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS

Jobcentre Plus

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus offices had their opening hours reduced in each of the last eight quarters for which figures are available; and which offices had such reductions in the last  (a) six, (b) 12,  (c) 24 and  (d) 48 months, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 15 January 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many Jobcentre Plus offices have had their opening hours reduced in each of the last eight quarters for which figures are available; and which offices had such reductions in the last 6, 12, 24, and 48 months, broken down by parliamentary constituency. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	A total of 97 Jobcentre Plus sites have had a reduction in opening hours in the last eight quarters to September 2006. A total of 123 Jobcentre Plus sites have had a reduction in opening hours in the four years to September 2006. It is not possible to provide information broken down by parliamentary constituency, as it is gathered at a Jobcentre Plus District level. The information available is set out in the attached table, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Annex A: number of Jobcentre Pus sites where opening hours have been reduced during the last six, 12, 24 and 48 months to September 2006 broken down by district 
			  Jobcentre Plus—offices operating reduced opening hours 
			Months 
			  Region  District  0 to six  seven to 12  13 to 24  25 to 48 
			 London — 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 Scotland — 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 North East — 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 East of England Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 0 1 1 0 
			  Cambridge and Suffolk 6 0 0 0 
			  Essex 0 0 1 0 
			  Norfolk 1 1 1  
			   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber North East Yorkshire and the Humber 0 0 3 0 
			  South Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 
			  West Yorkshire 0 0 1 4 
			   
			 West Midlands Staffordshire 0 0 0 1 
			  Marches 0 0 2 0 
			 North West Greater Manchester East and West 0 0 1 0 
			  Greater Mersey 0 0 0 1 
			  Cheshire and Warrington 0 0 0 4 
			   
			 East Midlands Derbyshire 1 0 0 2 
			  Nottinghamshire 2 3 1 0 
			  Leicestershire and Northampton 1 0 0 0 
			   
			 South East Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire 0 15 0 0 
			  Hampshire and Isle of Wight 0 0 19 6 
			  Kent 0 0 2 0 
			   
			 South West Devon and Cornwall 0 2 9 3 
			  Dorset and Somerset 0 2 6 0 
			   
			 Wales South East Wales 1 0 1 1 
			  South West Wales 0 3 0 0 
			  South Wales Valleys 0 0 4 2 
			  North and Mid Wales 0 0 6 1 
			   
			 Total — 12 27 58 26

Jobcentre Plus

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what checks are made by Jobcentre Plus on the immigration status of applicants and claimants.

James Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 15 January 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what checks are made by Jobcentre Plus on the immigration status of applicants and claimants. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	When a customer contacts Jobcentre Plus we ask he or she to provide their national insurance number. If a customer does not know their national insurance number or they do not have one, and we cannot match their personal details against an existing record the customer is asked to obtain a national insurance number for their benefit claim to proceed. The national insurance number application process involves an evidence of identity interview where the customer is asked to prove their identity. He or she is also asked questions about nationality, residence, and details of their journey to the UK.
	Even if an applicant for benefit already has a national insurance number, he or she will be expected to provide confirmation of their identity as part of the claims process.
	At the initial interview the Financial Assessor will establish the customer's identity and, if applicable, their partner's identity. If the Financial Assessor has any concerns, they will request evidence to be provided to verify the identity of the customer, and would not allow the claim to proceed until they are satisfied of the customer's identity.
	Anyone who has arrived in the UK in the two years prior to making a benefit claim must prove they have a right to reside in the UK, as well as being habitually resident, before any claim is processed or payment made.
	In addition, a "right to work" condition has been introduced into the National Insurance Number allocation and decision-making process for employment-related applications. This was implemented in July and guidance has been issued to all Jobcentre Plus staff
	To support this, changes to Regulation 9 of the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations 2001 were laid before Parliament on 7 November 2006.

Jobcentre Plus

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what role was played by Mind in the development by his Department of the two-day learning event for advisers on working with customers with a mental illness referred to in the answer of 31 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 263-64W, on Jobcentre Plus; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what role was played by Mind in the development by his Department of the two-day learning event for advisers on working with customers with a mental illness referred to in the Answer of 31st October 2006, Official Report, columns 263-4W, on Jobcentre Plus. This is something that falls within my responsibilities as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus works with a range of partners including MIND in the development of training materials to support the implementation of the Jobcentre Plus Incapacity Benefit Adviser role. The 'Working with Customers with a Health Condition or Disability' training product was developed for staff and sent to MIND for their quality assurance prior to release.

Maternity Allowance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many women in the UK were entitled to maternity allowance in each year since 2001-02; and what estimate he has made of the future take-up rates;
	(2)  how many women in the UK received maternity allowance in each year since 2001-02; and what estimate he has made of the likely number in each year from 2006-07 to 2009-10.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Awards of maternity allowance 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 51,000 
			 2002-03 51,000 
			 2003-04 57,000 
			 2004-05 63,000 
			 2005-06 66,000 
			 2006-07 70,000 
			 2007-08 74,000 
			  Notes: 1. The figures for maternity allowance up to 2003-04 are based on a  5 per cent. sample of the maternity allowance computer system. The figures from 2004-05 onwards are forecasts. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000. 3. In line with HM Treasury expenditure planning cycles, forecasts of benefit case load and expenditure are not currently available beyond 2007-08.

Maternity Allowance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual cost in nominal terms of statutory maternity pay in the UK was in each year since 2001-02; and what estimate he has made of the likely costs in each year from 2006-07 to 2009-10.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Statutory maternity pay, Great Britain 
			   £ million (nominal terms) 
			 2001-02 636 
			 2002-03 724 
			 2003-04 1,233 
			 2004-05 1,291 
			 2005-06 1,243 
			 2006-07 1,268 
			 2007-08 1,595 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are consistent with pre-Budget report 2006, which shows total managed expenditure to 2007-08, and are for Great Britain. 2. Figures are out-turn to 2005-06 are estimated out-turn for 2006-07 and are plans for 2007-08. 3. Benefit expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office.  Source: DWP benefit expenditure tables. The DWP expenditure tables can be viewed on the DWP website at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp

Maternity Allowance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in the UK received statutory maternity pay in each year since 2001-02; and what estimate he has made of the likely number in each year from 2006-07 to 2009-10.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Awards of statutory maternity pay per annum 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 344,000 
			 2002-03 361,000 
			 2003-04 375,000 
			 2004-05 412,000 
			 2005-06 409,000 
			 2006-07 411,000 
			 2007-08 414,000 
			  Notes 1. Statutory maternity pay is paid and administered by employers. The figures from 2004-05 onwards are forecasts. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.  Source: Figures up to 2003-04 are based on a 1 per cent. sample of national insurance records. 
		
	
	Benefit case load and expenditure forecasts are currently not made available publicly past 2007-08. Expenditure plans and case load forecasts for 2008-09 and 2009-10 will be released as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Occupational Pensions

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many occupational pension schemes have collapsed in the last two years.

James Purnell: The information requested on the number of occupational pension schemes which have collapsed in the past two years is not available.

Oil and Gas Industry

Frank Doran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) lost time accidents and  (b) fatal accidents there were in the oil and gas industry in the UK continental shelf in each of the last 10 years.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is set out in the following table and is taken from Health and Safety Executive's published health and safety statistics.
	
		
			   Fatalities  Lost-time injuries 
			 1995-96 5 417 
			 1996-97 2 346 
			 1997-98 3 365 
			 1998-99 1 319 
			 1999-2000 2 246 
			 2000-01 3 330 
			 2001-02 3 234 
			 2002-03 0 184 
			 2003-04 3 151 
			 2004-05 0 152 
			 2005-06(1) 2 175 
			 (1) 2005-06 figures are provisional.

Pension Credit

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate is of pension credit in Wimbledon.

James Purnell: The information is not available in the format requested. Estimates of eligibility, and therefore of take-up, are not available below the level of Great Britain.
	The latest estimates of the number of pensioners in Great Britain entitled to pension credit were published in "Pension Credit Estimates of Take-Up in 2004/2005". A copy of the report is available in the Library.
	Actual figures for receipt of pension credit at constituency level are available. As at August 2006 2,280 households in Wimbledon were receiving pension credit.
	 Notes:
	1. The figure provided is an early estimate. The preferred data source for figures supplied by DWP is the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). However, the figure provided is the latest available figure which is taken from the GMS scan at 1 September 2006. These are adjusted using the historical relationship between WPLS and GMS data to give an estimate of the final WPLS figure.
	2. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the 2005 postcode directory.
	4. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	 Source:
	DWP 100 per cent. data from the Generalised Matching Service (CMS) Pension Credit scan taken as at 1 September 2006.

Pension Credit

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many compensatory payments were made in respect of pension credits in each of the last five years to Wimbledon residents; and what the cost was.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available.

Pension Credit

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) new thresholds will be for the savings credit element of pension credit for April and  (b) maximum levels of income will be above which pensioners would not gain from pension savings credit for (i) single people and (ii) couples; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: On 7 December 2006 I announced the proposed benefit rates for 2007. The full list of provisional benefit rates were set out in the Secretary of State's written statement on 11 December 2006. The 2007 rates will remain provisional until the Social Security Up-rating Order 2007 has been cleared by Parliament.
	The provisional savings credit threshold figures from April 2007 are £87.30 for single people and £139.60 for couples. The provisional rates will allow for single people to have up to around £167 and couples to have up to around £245 and still qualify for pension credit savings credit. If someone is severely disabled or a carer or has certain housing costs they may have higher levels of income and still qualify for pension credit.

Pensions

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in  (a) Eastbourne constituency and  (b) the UK receive the retirement pension age addition to those aged 80 years or over.

James Purnell: As at March 2006, there were 2,545,600 pensioners in Great Britain in receipt of the age addition, and of those 8,500 were in the Eastbourne parliamentary constituency.
	 Note
	The figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	 Source
	DWP, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample, rated to caseload in Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will disaggregate the cost of basic state pension reforms, as shown in figure 9 of the pensions White Paper, "Security in Retirement: Towards a New Pension System", to show the  (a) (i) gross and (ii) net costs of saving from increasing the basic state pension in line with earnings from 2012 on existing qualifying criteria,  (b) changes to qualifying criteria and  (c) changes to adult dependency increases proposed in the White Paper.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1997-98W.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the combined value of basic state pension and state second pension payments at the point of retirement for an average earner with a full contribution record reaching state pension age in each year from 2010  (a) under current policies and  (b) if the reforms in the pensions White Paper "Security in Retirement: Towards a New Pension System", are implemented.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1998-2000W.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of pensioner benefit units, including those with sufficient income not to qualify for pension credit, will face in 2050 an average rate of pension credit withdrawal on any income from sources other than the basic state pension that is  (a) 40 per cent.,  (b) 41 to 50 per cent.,  (c) 51 to 60 per cent.,  (d) 61 to 70 per cent.,  (e) 71 to 80 per cent.,  (f) 81 to 90 per cent.,  (g) 91 to 99 per cent. and  (h) 100 per cent., if the reforms proposed in the pensions White Paper, "Security in Retirement: Towards a New Pensions System", are implemented;
	(2)  if he will estimate the proportion of pensioner benefit units, including those with sufficient income not to qualify for pension credit, that would face in 2050 an average rate of pension credit withdrawal on any income from sources other than the basic state pension that is  (a) 40 per cent.,  (b) 41 to 50 per cent.,  (c) 51 to 60 per cent.,  (d) 61 to 70 per cent.,  (e) 71 to 80 per cent.,  (f) 81 to 90 per cent.,  (g) 91 to 99 per cent. and  (h) 100 per cent., if current uprating policies are continued indefinitely.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 2001-02W.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down the cost of pension credit reforms listed in figure 9 of the pensions White Paper into  (a) the cost of uprating the guarantee credit in line with earnings from 2008-09 and  (b) the savings generated by proposed reforms to the savings credit.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 2002W.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether an estimate has been made of the cost of compensating those identified in the ombudsman's report "Trusting in the Pensions Promise" taking into account the resulting reduction in  (a) pension credit,  (b) council tax benefit and  (c) housing benefit payable to those compensated.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1997W.

Post Office Card Account

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the timetable is for the competitive tendering process for the new Post Office card account; and when he expects a decision to be made;
	(2)  how the new Post Office card account will differ from the existing scheme.

James Plaskitt: The current Post Office card account contract ends in March 2010. The Government have decided that there will be a new service after 2010. This will have similar features to the Post Office card account. It will be available nationally and customers will be eligible for the account on the same basis as they are now for the Post Office card account. The detailed design for the product, including the name, will be decided as part of the tendering and contractual process. We will set out the timetable for the tendering process in due course.

Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets his Department has set for the number of  (a) children,  (b) pensioners and  (c) working age adults without children in relative poverty based on the 60 per cent. of median earnings definition by (i) 2010 and (ii) 2020; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: Our first priority on taking office was dealing with the situation we inherited of pensioners already living in poverty. Since 1997 1 million pensioners have been lifted out of relative poverty thanks to measures like pension credit.
	The White Paper "Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system" announced our commitment to secure these gains into the future by uprating both the basic state pension and the standard minimum guarantee in pension credit in line with earnings over the long-term.
	Pension credit ensures that no pensioner need live on less than £114.05 a week (£174.05 for couples). The Department has a public service agreement performance target to: by 2008, be paying pension credit to at least 3.2 million pensioner households, while maintaining a focus on the most disadvantaged by ensuring that at least 2.2 million of these households are in receipt of the guarantee credit.
	In the report "A Sure Start to Later Life: Ending Inequalities for Older People", published in January 2006, the Department committed to look at wider definitions and indicators of pensioner poverty in the wake of recently commissioned research, and to consider with the Treasury how and whether these should feed into PSA targets as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.
	We have set a public service agreement target to halve the number of children in relative low-income households between 1998-99 and 2010-11 on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020. This latter is defined as:
	Halve the number of children in relative low income (below 60 per cent. of median income before housing costs); and
	Halve the number of children suffering a combination of material deprivation and relative low income (below 70 per cent. median income before housing costs)
	We have also announced that we aim to make further progress so that there are fewer than 1 million children in absolute low income.
	There are no explicit departmental targets regarding poverty among working age adults without children based on the 60 per cent. of median earnings definition. However we have set ourselves the ambitious target of achieving a 70 per cent. employment rate for lone parents by 2010. This is part of our overall aim of achieving 80 per cent. employment across the country. Hitting these targets will contribute towards reducing working age poverty.

Poverty

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) pensioners and  (b) children in Coventry have been lifted out of poverty since 1997.

James Purnell: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2004-05", a copy of which has been placed in the Library. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	The data source does not allow us to provide robust numbers for estimates below a regional level. Therefore estimates for Coventry are not available. Instead, information on the numbers of pensioners and children in households with low incomes, in Great Britain in 1996-97 and 2004-05 and the Government Office for west midlands region in 1995-96 to 1997-98 and 2002-03 to 2004-05, are presented in tables 1 and 2. Estimates are shown both before and after housing costs.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of pensioners living in low income households (millions): 1996-97 and 2004-05 
			   Great Britain  West midlands 
			  After housing costs   
			 1996-97 2.78 — 
			 2004-05 1.77 — 
			 Change in number in low income -1.01 — 
			
			  After housing costs   
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 — 0.25 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 — 0.21 
			 Change in number in low income — -0.04 
			 Notes: 1. Numbers, for the west midlands region, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. The Great Britain figure is for a single year. 3. The table shows number of pensioners in millions, rounded to nearest 10,000. 4. In this answer low income is determined for pensioners as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median. 5. Figures may not sum, due to rounding. Source: Family Resources Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2:Number of children living in low income households (millions): 1996-97 and 2004-05 
			   Great Britain  West midlands 
			  Before housing costs   
			 1996-97 3.17 — 
			 2004-05 2.44 — 
			 Change in number in low income -0.72 — 
			  After housing costs   
			 1996-97 4.23 — 
			 2004-05 3.42 — 
			 Change in number in low income -0.81 — 
			
			  Before housing costs   
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 — 0.33 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 — 0.28 
			 Change in number in low income — -0.04 
			  After housing costs   
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 — 0.40 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 — 0.36 
			 Change in number in low income — -0.05 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers, for the west midlands region, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. The Great Britain figure is for a single year. 3. The table shows number of children in millions, rounded to the nearest 10,000. 4. In this answer low income is determined for pensioners as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median. 5. Figures may not sum, due to rounding.  Source: Family Resources Survey

Predictive Dialling Technology

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which contractors his Department employs who use predictive dialling technology; how many calls using predictive dialling technology were made on behalf of his Department by each such contractor in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those calls were abandoned.

James Purnell: holding answer 20 November 2006
	Within DWP the only business area that uses predictive dialling is debt management. The following debt collection agencies have been contracted to debt management: Eversheds, Commercial Collections Services Ltd. (CCSL), Legal and Trade and the Lewis Group.
	Please see the following table, which includes available data:
	
		
			   May to October 2006 
			Calls abandoned( 1)  as a result of predictive dialling 
			  Name of contractor  Number of calls using predictive dialling  Number  Percentage 
			 Eversheds 27,476 336 1.2 
			 Commercial Collections Services Ltd. (CCSL) 9,530 156 1.6 
			 Legal and Trade 132,858 4,002 3.0 
			 The Lewis Group(2) n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = not available (1) Abandoned calls refers to those calls where a customer hears a so-called 'silent call' as no agent is available to take that call. (2) The Lewis Group are unable to provide figures for DWP alone as they only record combined information about all clients.

Public Finance Contracts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total liability to his Department would be in circumstances of immediate termination of all  (a) public/private partnerships and  (b) public finance initiative contracts.

Jim Murphy: The Department has a single private finance initiative contract entered into in 1998 with Land Securities Trillium (LST) for the supply of serviced accommodation. This contract, known as the Private Sector Resource Initiative for the Management of Estate (PRIME), was expanded in 2003 to include the former Employment Service estate.
	The Expanded PRIME Contract provides for the termination of the contract during the 20-year operating period, by either the PRIME contractor or voluntarily by the Department. The contract provides the Department with safeguards in respect of the accommodation it occupies and services it is receiving at the time of termination. The Department does not have any direct liability if termination is by the PRIME contractor. However, should the termination by the PRIME contractor be as a result of the Department allegedly being in breach of contract, a compensation payment might be sought by LST.
	If the Department voluntarily terminates the contract it will incur a number of liabilities, including potential redundancy payments for LST's sub-contractors, the unitary payments for a prescribed period and compensation for early termination. The level of liability would be calculated at the time of contract termination and be subject to negotiation and financial analysis of the Department's liability.
	The Department has no public/private partnerships.

Refreshments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on refreshments in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security (DSS), the Employment Service (ES) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment (DfEE).
	Information on expenditure for refreshments is only available from 2002-03 as the predecessor Departments accounted for this type of expenditure in different ways.
	The information is shown in the following table.
	All expenditure on refreshments is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Working lunches  Teas and coffees 
			 2002-03 722 613 
			 2003-04 867 905 
			 2004-05 825 959 
			 2005-06 937 781

State Pension: NI Contributions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women began to receive state pensions in 2005-06; and how many such women had the number of qualifying years of national insurance contributions needed to earn a full basic state pension reduced by the operation of home responsibilities protection in respect of past receipt of child benefit.

James Purnell: Approximately 300,000 UK women aged 60 in 2005-06 had some entitlement to basic state pension. Around 150,000 of these women had the number of qualifying years needed to earn a full basic state pension reduced by the operation of home responsibilities protection.
	 Notes
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 50,000.
	2. Figures refer to entitlement based on women's own contribution record.
	3. Some women who reach state pension age in 2005-06 with some entitlement to basic state pension defer their entitlement and claim in a later year.
	 Source
	Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, 2003-04

State Pension: NI Contributions

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the net Exchequer cost is of the proposed reduction to 30 years national insurance contributions for a full basic state pension in 2010, and in subsequent years thereafter.

James Purnell: The estimated net cost of reducing the number of qualifying years required for a full basic state pension to 30 for people reaching state pension age from 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ billion 
			   Estimated net cost 
			 2010 0.0 
			 2011 0.1 
			 2012 0.1 
			 2013 0.2 
			 2014 0.2 
			 2015 0.3 
			 2016 0.3 
			 2017 0.3 
			 2018 0.4 
			 2019 0.4 
			 2020 0.5 
			 2030 1.2 
			 2040 1.7 
			 2050 2.0 
			  Notes: 1. Estimates are presented in £ billion, 2006-07 price terms. 2. Estimates of additional expenditure are consistent with the policy detail set out in the regulatory impact assessment accompanying the Pensions Bill. Net costs include savings seen from reduced expenditure on other income related benefits (pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit). They do not include any change in income tax revenue or national insurance. 3. Net costs assume the pension credit standard minimum guarantee is uprated by earnings from 2008. Net costs do not include the effect of direct reforms to the savings credit. 4. Costs or savings presented in the table are based on long-term projections of United Kingdom benefit spend, consistent with the pre-Budget report 2006. 5. Figures exclude the effect of raising state pension age. 6. Figures exclude the effect of personal accounts. 
		
	
	The estimates shown do not include any other reforms proposed in the Pensions Bill. For example, costs of uprating the basic state pension by earnings, or of the other reforms to improve the coverage of basic state pension, are not included.

State Pension: NI Contributions

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many years of national insurance contributions would be required to receive a full basic state pension in each tax year from 2007-08 such that by 2013 the accumulated costs from 2007-08 onwards equal those which would have been accumulated as a result of measures in the Pensions Bill 2006-07 to give entitlement to a full basic state pension with 30 years' contributions from 2010.

James Purnell: The information is available only at disproportionate cost.

State Pension: NI Contributions

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the  (a) merits and  (b) costs of measures to smooth the change planned for 6 April 2010 to the number of years of national insurance contributions required for eligibility for a full basic state pension;
	(2)  what the net cost to the public purse would be of changing the number of years of national insurance contributions required to receive a full basic state pension for men to  (a) 42 up to April 2010,  (b) 38 up to April 2011,  (c) 34 up to April 2012 and  (d) 30 thereafter;
	(3)  what the net cost to the public purse would be of reducing the number of years of national insurance contributions required to receive a full basic state pension for women by three up to April 2007 and by one in each subsequent year until April 2013.

James Purnell: A key part of the Government's package of proposed reforms is to make the state pension fairer and available to more people as soon as is practicable. This means addressing women's lower state pension outcomes as soon as possible and is why we are planning to introduce the reduction in qualifying years for all those reaching state pension age from 2010. The effect of this is to ensure around three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 would achieve a full basic state pension, compared to just 30 per cent. today.
	This approach does however mean that two people with similar contribution histories reaching state pension age either side of 6 April 2010 will have their state pension entitlement calculated differently and this could produce different outcomes.
	Changes could be made more gradually to avoid this situation, for example, by phasing in the reduction in years needed for a full basic state pension and we have explored different way to do this.
	Smoothing the reduction of qualifying years from 2010 would delay the substantial improvement in women's basic state pension outcomes for some years beyond 2010. Phasing the reduction in qualifying years before 2010 would give some women the advantage of both a lower state pension age of 60 and the benefit of these reforms. However the reforms are introduced there will be some people who reach state pension age on the wrong side of the chosen date or the series of dates chosen to phase in the reduction of qualifying years.
	It is a difficult balance. Our intention in opting for a 2010 introduction is to improve the pension position of as many women and carers as possible and as quickly as possible while keeping the reforms within the fiscal envelope.
	We are unable to provide the information in respect of the particular phasing options you have set out in the time available.

Workless Households

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which 50 wards have  (a) the highest proportion of children living in workless households and  (b) the highest proportion of workless households.

Jim Murphy: A workless household is a household containing someone claiming either income support, jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit/severe disability allowance, or pension credit.
	The 50 wards that have the highest proportion of children living in workless households are listed as follows:
	Barlanark
	Benchill
	Beswick and Clayton
	Bidston
	Birkenhead
	Blackfriars
	Bradford
	Breckfield
	Bridgeton/Dalmarnock
	Butetown
	Cantril Farm
	Central
	Church Street
	Craigmillar
	Craigneuk
	Everton
	Glenwood
	Granby
	Grangetown
	Gurnos
	Harpurhey
	Hulme
	Hutchesontown
	Ibrox
	Kensington
	Keppochhill
	Lawrence Hill
	Linacre
	Longview
	Maerdy
	Moss Side
	Northumberland Park
	Orchard Park and Greenwood
	Parkhead
	Penderry
	Pendleton
	Pen-y-waun
	Princess
	Queenslie
	Royston
	Smithdown
	Speke
	St. James
	Summerhill
	Thorntree
	Townhill
	Tylorstown
	Vauxhall
	Walker
	West City
	Information about the 50 wards that have the highest proportion of workless households is not available. This is because this is measured using data from the Household Labour Force Survey but this is only available at Government office region level.
	 Notes:
	1. All data represent a snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically.
	2. Geo-referencing tools, obtained from the Office for National Statistics, have been used to assign claimants to geographies.
	3. Data represents children dependent on a parent/guardian claiming one or more of IS, JSA, IB/SDA or PC.
	4. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents is not reliably completed on the benefit computer system. Therefore children have been merged onto IS/JSA/IB/SDA/PC claims from child benefit records with permission of HMRC.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer by the Prime Minister of 13 December 2006,  Official Report, column 866, on engagements, if she will list the accident and emergency departments which are undergoing consultation on change.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held centrally. However, there may be a number of service reviews, where proposals are either subject to ongoing consultation or subject to consultation in the future, and these may involve some changes to accident and emergency (A and E) facilities.
	The national health service has told us that there are no plans to consult on changes to A and E in 12 of the NHS trusts from the list of 29 that the hon. Member claimed were under threat of closure or downgrading in his letter of 30 November to the NHS chief executive, David Nicholson.
	The Government will support the NHS on service reconfigurations where clear and compelling cases for change are made. Professor Sir George Alberti's report "Emergency Access", published on 5 December 2006, set out that how emergency care is delivered needs to change to ensure that patients get the best care in the right place. The report is available in the Library and can be found at www.dh.gov.uk/publications
	No substantial changes to A and E facilities will take place without full and proper consultation with patients and the public locally.

Advertising

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on  (a) television and  (b) radio advertising in each year since 1997-98 in (i) real and (ii) nominal terms.

Ivan Lewis: The following tables set out how much the Department has spent on television and radio advertising in each year since 2000-05 in real and nominal terms.
	Financial information on television and radio advertising is only available for the last five years. Figures pre-2001 are no longer accessible due to the switch-over to a new financial management system.
	
		
			  TV advertising spend 
			  £ million 
			   Nominal  Real 
			 2001-02 8.7 8.3 
			 2002-03 9.05 8.60 
			 2003-04 18.75 18.36 
			 2004-05 17.77 17.59 
			 2005-06 13.82 13.82 
		
	
	
		
			  Radio advertising spend 
			  £ million 
			   Nominal  Real 
			 2001-02 2.10 2.42 
			 2002-03 2.03 2.22 
			 2003-04 2.12 2.26 
			 2004-05 3.74 3.78 
			 2005-06 3.90 3.90

Bank Nurses

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours of work were covered by bank nurses in the NHS in each year between 2000-01 and 2005-06.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Birthing Units

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the reasons for variations in the cost of deliveries referred to in the answer of 10 October 2006,  Official Report, column 679W in the last Session, on birthing units.

Ivan Lewis: A combination of local unavoidable costs affecting the cost of providing activity, such as staff, land and building costs, and the relative efficiencies of the organisations providing the activity lead to variations in the cost of the deliveries referred to. The information used to produce these average costs, national health service reference costs, is collected at an aggregate level so currently no further assessment can be made as to what parts of providing these services are contributing what costs.

Breast Screening

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on extending the NHS breast screening programme to women aged 65 to 70 years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: All local national health service breast screening programmes are now inviting women aged 65 to 70, and an estimated over 600,000 more women have accepted their invitation and been screened since the extension began in April 2001.

Cataract Operations

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cataract operations were carried out at  (a) Good Hope Hospital and  (b) Sir Robert Peel Hospital in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The information for the Sir Robert Peel Hospital is not collected centrally. However, data relating to the Good Hope Hospital National Health Service Trust have been set out in the table.
	The table shows the number of cataract operations undertaken at Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust each year since 1999. Prior to this date no cataract operations were performed at the trust.
	
		
			  Count of finished in year admission episodes where cataracts were the main operation 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 362 
			 2004-05 352 
			 2003-04 321 
			 2002-03 309 
			 2001-02 348 
			 2000-01 395 
			 1999-2000 223 
			  Notes: 1. Main operation The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, eg time waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation. 2. OPCS codes: C71 Extracapsular extraction of lens C72 Intracapsular extraction of lens C74 Other extraction of lens C75 Prosthesis of lens Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality PCT and SHA data were added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of Treatment and SHA of Treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data. 3. Finished in-year admissions A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the datayear. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Cheese Industry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the possible impact on the cheese industry of the proposed restrictions on television advertising of unhealthy foods.

Caroline Flint: The Government's manifesto includes a commitment to help parents by restricting further the advertising and promotion to children of those foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar. There has been no assessment of the possible impact that proposed television restrictions on food and drink advertising to children will have on the cheese industry.
	The Department believes that the nutrient profiling model, developed by the Food Standards Agency for use by Ofcom, provides a scientific and objective base for underpinning regulatory intervention in relation to television advertising to children. The restrictions that Ofcom has announced apply to programming aimed at or of particular appeal to children.

Choose and Book System

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of  (a) establishing the choose and book system and  (b) operating the system to date; whether the system is rolling out to plan; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: At the end of November 2006, the cost to date of the development and operation of the choose and book computer system was £33.0 million under a contract with Atos Origin worth £64.5 million over five years.
	In the week ending 3 December 2006, 32 per cent. of all national health service referrals to see a specialist went through choose and book and 77 per cent. of General Practitioners practices made at least one choose and book referral. All 170 eligible NHS acute trusts and a number of independent sector providers, are receiving choose and book referrals.

Cirencester Hospital

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her Department expects to sign a contract for the provision of elective surgery at Cirencester hospital.

Andy Burnham: The proposed provision of elective surgery at Cirencester hospital is part of a wider scheme for the provision of services by an independent sector provider across the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire area. United Kingdom Specialist Hospitals (UKSH) was appointed as the preferred bidder for the scheme in August 2006. Commercial negotiations with UKSH have continued since that time. Contract signature is anticipated in spring 2007 and services are expected to commence in summer 2008.
	Proceedings for permission to bring a Judicial Review claim in relation to this contract have been served. The permission proceedings are being opposed. Until the outcome of these proceedings is known, it is not possible to know whether the timetable to sign this contract will need to be delayed.

Cirencester Hospital

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Gloucester Partnership trust has any plans  (a) to curtail and  (b) to move any of the NHS services which are provided at the Cirencester memorial hospital.

Ivan Lewis: Gloucestershire Partnership national health service trust plans to continue providing community-based specialist mental health services in Cirencester, including out-patient services and assessment and treatment. However, the Memorial Centre is not fit for providing modern mental health services and the trust needs to ensure that it discharges its responsibilities in relation to health and safety at work and disabled persons' access.
	The trust is therefore seeking an alternative location in Cirencester. The trust will share any relocation proposals with patients and the public locally before a final decision is taken and has confirmed that there will be no gaps in service provision during relocation.
	Until an alternative location is found, the Memorial Centre will continue to be used by staff to provide a range of services, including primary care assessment treatment, recovery and crisis teams, psychological therapy, substance misuse and eating disorder services.

Cirencester Hospital

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there are any plans to reduce the hours of accident and emergency treatment at Cirencester memorial hospital.

Ivan Lewis: Decisions about local services are taken by local national health service organisations. NHS South West has advised officials that there are no accident and emergency services at Cirencester memorial day hospital. I understand that there is a minor injuries unit service at Cirencester hospital, and that there are no changes planned to that service.

Community Service Volunteers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has  (a) budgeted for and  (b) paid to the Community Service Volunteers in the 2006-07 financial year; and what the figures were in 2005-06.

Ivan Lewis: The amounts budgeted for and paid to the Community Service Volunteers (CSV) organisation by the Department of Health is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Payments budgeted and paid to CSV 
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			   Budgeted  Paid  Budgeted  Paid 
			 Capital volunteering 2,640,000 2,640,000 3,746,000 3,746,000 
			 Opportunities for volunteering 250,000 250,000 243,000 243,000 
			 Section 64 grant 12,300 12,300 30,000 22,500 
			 Total 2,902,300 2,902,300 4,019,000 265,500

Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the chairman of the Appointments Commission to write to the right hon. Member for Warley with the information requested in the question on the West Midlands Ambulance Service answered on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1321W.

Rosie Winterton: I understand that a reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 22 December 2006.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that figures for missed dental appointments in each primary care trust in England are collected centrally.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has no plans to introduce a national requirement that dentists report on numbers of missed appointments.

Dentistry

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidelines on the provision of dental services for children in deciding the minimum number of units of dental activity for children under the new contractual arrangements.

Rosie Winterton: The new contractual arrangements do not specify any minimum number of units of dental activity for children. Under the new contracts, dentists are required to provide the care and treatment that they judge clinically necessary and that the patient or, in the case of children, the parent or carer agrees to have provided. Dentists are also required to take into account the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidelines in recommending the interval at which a patient should return for a further examination and assessment, having completed a course of treatment.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what growth funding was provided to each  (a) primary care trust and  (b) local health board from 1 April 2006 from the previous year's allocation for the delivery of NHS dentistry.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) did not receive primary care dental allocations in 2005-06. The bulk of primary dental care continued to be provided through the centrally funded general dental services, with spending levels determined primarily by where dentists chose to practise and how much NHS work they chose to undertake. PCTs assumed full responsibility for local commissioning of primary care dentistry and received devolved budgets with effect from 1 April 2006. PCTs' 2006-07 primary care dental allocations reflected levels of dental activity in each PCT area during the 12-month reference period October 2004 to September 2005, together with adjustments for contracts that opened during the reference period, funding plans agreed between PCTs and the Department for expanding personal dental services pilots or establishing new services, and upratings to 2006-07 prices.
	The resources allocated to PCTs assumed overall gross expenditure (including income from dental patient charges) of around £2.4 billion, compared with gross expenditure of around £2.2 billion nationally in 2005-06.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of each primary care trust's devolved budget for NHS dentistry has not yet been allocated to the delivery of dental care.

Rosie Winterton: The in-year management of devolved primary dental care allocations is the responsibility of primary care trusts, overseen by strategic health authorities. Full year expenditure data will not be available until after the year end.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have accessed NHS dentistry in England in each of the last 12 months, broken down by primary care trust or local health board.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the form requested. Under the new dental system, which came into effect from 1 April 2006, information is available on the number of patients who receive care or treatment from a national health service dentist in the most recent 24-month period. The Information Centre for Health and Social Care publishes this information, known as patients seen, each quarter. This is not yet available broken down into adult and child categories but is expected to be available in this format later this year.
	The latest information available covering the 24-month periods ending March, June and September 2006 is set out by primary care trust in the table which has been placed in the Library. It is also available in the NHS Dental Statistics for England Quarter Two: 30 September 2006 publication at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/nhsdentq2.
	Welsh data are available from the Welsh Assembly Government.

Dentistry

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units of dental activity were allocated to each dental practice in Wimbledon constituency in 2005-06.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Diabetes

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the criteria will be for the funding decision for the National Diabetes Support Team in the next financial year; and when the decision will be made.

Rosie Winterton: Funding for diabetes is included in the proposed bundle for 2007-08. A service level agreement is being prepared for discussion and agreement between the Department and the 10 strategic health authorities (SHAs). This is planned to be finalised in the next few weeks. The 10 SHAs will then agree how individual budget funding is to be deployed in 2007-08 and the criteria to be used for decision-making.

Diabetes

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding will be made available by her Department for the National Diabetes Support Team from March 2007 to March 2008.

Rosie Winterton: The value of the 2007-08 bundle has been finalised at £6.9 billion and the Department is currently preparing a service level agreement for discussion and agreement between the Department and the 10 strategic health authorities (SHAs). This is expected to be finalised in the next few weeks. The SHAs will then agree how funding for individual programme budgets (such as for diabetes) will be deployed for 2007-08.

Diabetes

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding the National Diabetes Support Team received from her Department in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006 to date.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows how much funding has gone to the National Diabetes Support Team (NDST) since its establishment in 2003
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 2,700,000 
			 2004-05 4,000,000 
			 2005-06 4,694,000 
			 2006-07 4,490,000 
			  Note:  In 2006-2007 there was a change in the funding arrangements. Up until that point funding for the NDST was on the basis of a service level agreement (SLA) directly with Bradford primary care trust(PCT). From 2006-2007 onwards funding for the NDST has formed part of the bundle of national health service programme money passed to the new strategic health authorities (SHAs) to cover the cost of various centrally provided NHS activities such as national support teams. 
		
	
	Bradford PCT acted as host agency for the NDST and channelled funding to the team on the basis of a SLA held with the Department

Gershon Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by her Department and its associated public bodies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs have been included in reporting headline efficiency savings; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Gershon report required Departments to calculate operating efficiencies recurrent beyond March 2008. We were not required to calculate non-recurrent investment costs incurred up to this date. Any recurrent additional operating costs that may offset specific efficiency gains are however included.
	Both our initial target and subsequent reported progress are calculated on this basis. We do not therefore hold a comprehensive central record of non- recurrent costs. Deducted recurrent costs at September 2006, relating to community nursing to enable reduced hospital emergency bed days, amount to £60 million.
	Full details of how gains have been calculated are set out in the efficiency technical note published in December 2005 and available on the Department's website.

Health Protection Agency

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes in practice have resulted following publication of the Health Protection Agency's port health and medical inspection review.

Caroline Flint: The joint Health Protection Agency (HPA) and Home Office review of port health and medical inspection under the Immigration Act 1971 identified an action plan, which is currently being implemented. The HPA has initiated work to ensure that arrangements at each port of entry are robust, understood and fit for purpose, which allow the HPA to assume full responsibility for the medical input to these services from April 2007. The Home Office has also set up standing arrangements for the healthcare of immigration detainees at ports of entry.

Hospital Beds

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available in NHS hospitals in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many were  (a) intensive care,  (b) high dependency and  (c) high observation beds.

Rosie Winterton: Table 1 shows the average daily number of available intensive care beds, England, 2001-02 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Intensive care beds 
			 2001-02 4,938 
			 2002-03 5,022 
			 2003-04 5,013 
			 2004-05 5,223 
			 2005-06 5,463 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of available adult high dependency beds on the census dates, England, 2001 to 2006.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Census date  Adult high dependency beds 
			 15 January 2001 1,208 
			 16 July 2001 1,270 
			 15 January 2002 1,319 
			 16 July 2002 1,352 
			 15 January 2003 1,351 
			 16 July 2003 1,397 
			 15 January 2004 1,374 
			 15 July 2004 1,414 
			 13 January 2005 1,440 
			 14 July 2005 1,429 
			 16 January 2006 1,485 
			 13 July 2006 1,443 
		
	
	Data on the number of high observation beds are not held centrally.

Hospital Parking

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per hour is for parking at hospitals in  (a) England,  (b) the Midlands and  (c) Staffordshire.

Andy Burnham: The average (median) hourly cost of hospital parking for staff and visitors in 2005-06 is in the table.
	
		
			   Average fee charges per hour for patient visitor parking (£) 
			 England 0.83 
			 Midlands (as defined by Birmingham and Black Country, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, Shropshire and Staffordshire, Trent and West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) boundaries). 1.00 
			 Staffordshire (Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA) 0.59 
			  Note: The information is based on data provided voluntarily by the national health service and has not been amended centrally. NHS trusts that have provided no data or made a zero return were excluded from the calculation.

In-patient Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been removed from the official NHS in-patient waiting list in each year since 1990.

Andy Burnham: The figures are shown in the table
	
		
			  Number of removals from an inpatient waiting list, England 1990 to 2006 
			   Number 
			 1989-90 260,503 
			 1990-91 306,899 
			 1991-92 387,980 
			 1992-93 412,299 
			 1993-94 451,559 
			 1994-95 521,320 
			 1995-96 547,863 
			 1996-97 551,999 
			 1997-98 558,242 
			 1998-99 672,432 
			 1999-2000 622,787 
			 2000-01 613,931 
			 2001-02 581,534 
			 2002-03 601,353 
			 2003-04 621,345 
			 2004-05 612,004 
			 2005-06 613,626 
			  Note: Removals can be made for the following reasons: —patient no longer requires treatment; —patient has removed themselves from the list; —patient admitted as an emergency; and —patient transferred to another trust.  Source: KH06 NHS Trust-based figures.

Institute for Innovation and Improvement

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement plans to spend on its new initiative, the Productive Community Hospital; how many staff will be working on the initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement will be carrying out a tender exercise for some elements of the project and therefore data relating to costings for the project are commercially sensitive. Staffing levels for the project have not yet been fixed.

Lesbian and Gay History

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sponsorship was provided to Lesbian and Gay History Month by her Department in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006; and what sponsorship is planned for 2007.

Ivan Lewis: The Department of Health has not previously sponsored Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month. We did not provide funding in 2005 or 2006 and there are currently no plans to fund LGBT history month in 2007.
	We are working with LGBT History Month to develop a resource detailing the implications for healthcare organisations of the forthcoming regulations on prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services.

Local Involvement Networks

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to ensure that moneys provided to local authorities for local involvement networks will be passed on.

Rosie Winterton: Following discussions between the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government, it has been agreed that the resources to provide support to local involvement networks (LINks) will be allocated as a targeted specific grant. The specific grant for LINks will be separately identified and paid to local authorities.
	The authorities will be under a statutory duty to establish LINks to specified standards, with guidance to ensure consistency between authorities. We will encourage overview and scrutiny committees to scrutinise this duty to assess whether the local authority made use of all of its allocation effectively in the support of LINks. The use of the grant will also come under the scrutiny of the Audit Commission.

Long-term Care

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the treatment and care of patients with long-term conditions.

Ivan Lewis: The Government's framework document for supporting people with long term conditions is set out in "Supporting People with Long Term Conditions—An NHS and Social Care Model to support local innovation and integration". This has been supplemented by "Supporting People with Long Term Conditions to Self Care—a guide to developing local strategies and good practice" and chapter 5 of "Our Health Our Care Our Say—a new direction for community services" support for people with longer-term needs. Copies of all three documents have been placed in the Library.

Mental Health

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to advise Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee of her decision on the referral of service delivery in Gloucestershire with regard to mental health; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Gloucestershire Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) wrote to the Secretary of State on 20 November referring the decision by Gloucestershire Partnership National Health Service Trust to centralise older people's mental health in-patient services at Charlton Lane, Cheltenham.
	The Department is currently considering the information relevant to the case and a reply will be sent to the OSC in due course.

Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what population figures were used to calculate the NHS funding for the Milton Keynes primary care trust for 2006-07 and 2007-08; and how many prisoners at HMP Woodhill were included in the population figures for each year.

Rosie Winterton: The population figure used to calculate funding for the Milton Keynes primary care trust (PCT) was 228,793 in 2006-07 and 231,410 in 2007-08. For both years the number of prisoners used was 218, but this figure is subtracted from the population totals. Prisoners are regarded as usually resident in a prison if they have served six months or more of a custodial sentence. This data is provided to the Department by the Office for National Statistics, which receives it from the Home Office.
	Funding for health care within prisons is currently calculated and provided separately from general PCT allocations. The phased transfer of funding from HM Prison Service to PCTs was accompanied by a growth in revenue—meaning that whereas £118 million was transferred in 2002-03, by 2006-07 investment reached nearly £200 million.
	Throughout this period of staged budget increases, allocations to those PCTs which have a prison in their area were calculated using a fair shares formula, constructed independently to tackle funding anomalies and take into account the type of prison, its size, the number of receptions, market forces factors and baseline budget. From 2006-07, simple percentage increases to these allocations will apply. For 2007-08, Milton Keynes will receive £3.264 million to fund prison health services, in addition to its general allocation of £277.9 million.

Myasthenia Gravis

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer by the Under-Secretary of State of 30 November 2006 to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell),  Official Report, column 919W, on myasthenia gravis, what proportion of the 25 per cent. of her Department's expenditure on health research that is not devolved to and managed by NHS organisations was spent on research into myasthenia gravis in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: None in the financial year 2005-06.

National Partnership for Obesity

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in establishing the national partnership for obesity; which organisations she expects to participate in the national partnership; what  (a) role and  (b) terms of reference the partnership will have; and when she expects the partnership to begin its work.

Caroline Flint: The obesity stakeholder engagement work, being undertaken by the Department, represents a national partnership for obesity by engaging representatives from across central and local government, together with non-Government organisations and industry, to develop a social marketing approach in the prevention of obesity. In addition, the governance arrangements for the cross-Government obesity programme account for partnership working between the national health service and other Departments, agencies, primary care trusts, NHS organisations, health professionals, local authorities, schools, early years settings and industry. All of this work is under way.

NHS: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) average and  (b) longest time for which a Barnet resident (i) waited for an (A) MRI and (B) CT scan in (1) 1996-97 and (2) 2005-06 and (ii) has waited for each type of scan in 2006-07; how many patients had each type of scan in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested was only collected from 2006-07 and is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Timeband breakdown of MRI and CT waiting times for Barnet PCT, commissioner basis—2006 
			  Number of patients waiting 
			Weeks 
			  Month  Test  0<1  1<2  2<3  3<4  4<5  5<6 
			 March Magnetic resonance imaging 37 47 61 49 42 34 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 56 71 62 65 56 43 
			 March Computed tomography 40 37 35 38 39 29 
			 October Computed tomography 79 67 65 36 41 42 
		
	
	
		
			  Month  Test  6<7  7<8  8<9  9<10  10<11 
			 March Magnetic resonance imaging 42 51 42 48 39 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 48 42 39 52 39 
			 March Computed tomography 23 21 3 5 3 
			 October Computed tomography 33 21 14 5 12 
		
	
	
		
			  Month  Test  l1<12  12<13  13<14  14<15  15<16  16<17 
			 March Magnetic resonance imaging 41 35 23 19 17 27 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 40 32 26 25 15 20 
			 March Computed tomography 3 2 2 1 0 1 
			 October Computed tomography 6 5 3 3 1 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Month  Test  17<18  18<19  19<20  20<21  21<22 
			 March Magnetic resonance imaging 23 22 24 1 0 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 17 15 11 9 4 
			 March Computed tomography 1 1 0 0 0 
			 October Computed tomography 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Month  Test  22<23  23<24  24<25  25<26  26<27  27<28 
			 March Magnetic Resonance Imaging 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 1 3 1 4 0 0 
			 March Computed tomography 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 October Computed tomography 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Month  Test  28<29  29<30  30<31  31<32  32<33 
			 March Magnetic Resonance Imaging 0 0 0 0 1 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 0 0 0 0 0 
			 March Computed tomography 0 0 0 0 0 
			 October Computed tomography 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Note: Weekly timeband data are collected up to 52+ weeks, however, as there were no patients waiting beyond 33 weeks for this dataset, only timebands up to 33 weeks are provided.  Source: Department of Health, DMO1 
		
	
	
		
			  Summary of MRI and CT waiting times for Barnet PCT, commissioner basis—2006 
			  Month  Test  Total number of patients waiting  Median wait (weeks) 
			 March Magnetic resonance imaging 728 8.0 
			 October Magnetic resonance imaging 795 6.9 
			 March Computed tomography 284 3.8 
			 October Computed tomography 437 3.2 
			  Source: Department of Health, DMO1

NHS: Fast Food Outlets

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many branches of  (a) Burger King,  (b) McDonalds,  (c) Kentucky Fried Chicken and  (d) other fast food outlets there are in NHS hospitals; whether any such outlets have been given exclusive food merchandising rights in that hospital; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	National health service trusts are locally responsible for decisions relating to the provision of all food to patients, staff and visitors. NHS trusts are encouraged to generate income by making best use of their assets and this can include the provision of retail services of the type to which the question refers. The precise contractual arrangements will depend on the individual scheme and the local situation.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) net financial outturn,  (b) gross surplus and  (c) gross deficit of the NHS was in each financial year since 1990-91.

Andy Burnham: We do not maintain figures by individual national health service body prior to 1996-97, we cannot provide gross deficits and gross surpluses for the earliest years.
	The following table provides the NHS gross financial position for the years 1996-97 to 2005-06 and the net financial position of the NHS for years 1990-91 to 2005-06.
	National health service (NHS) gross deficits and gross surpluses are not available in years 1990-91 to 1995-96.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Total NHS gross surplus  Total NHS gross (deficit)  Total NHS net (deficit)/surplus 
			 1990-91 n/a n/a (125) 
			 1991-92 n/a n/a 103 
			 1992-93 n/a n/a 53 
			 1993-94 n/a n/a 130 
			 1994-95 n/a n/a 25 
			 1995-96 n/a n/a (250) 
			 1996-97 134 (593) (459) 
			 1997-98 119 (240) (121) 
			 1998-99 145 (163) (18) 
			 1999-2000 144 (273) (129) 
			 2000-01 153 (41) 112 
			 2001-02 141 (69) 71 
			 2002-03 302 (206) 96 
			 2003-04 338 (265) 73 
			 2004-05 504 (725) (221) 
			 2005-06 765 (1,312) (547) 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest million 2. Figures exclude foundation trusts

NHS Funding: Prisoners

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what elements of NHS care are included in the NHS funding to primary care trusts for prisoners; and whether this changed in April 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The general principle underlying the provision of healthcare in prisons is that it should be equivalent to that provided to the general population. Prisoners are therefore entitled to a full national health service. This principle did not change in April 2006.

North Bristol NHS Trust

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the accumulated financial deficit of North Bristol NHS Trust owed to her Department in respect of annual deficits is since 1997; how much of the accumulated deficit has so far been repaid; over what timescale the remainder is to be repaid; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: North Bristol NHS Trust first reported a cumulative deficit of £4.2 million in 2001-02, which increased to £48.8 million in 2002-03. In the subsequent three financial years the trust has recovered £3.9 million, and therefore the cumulative deficit remaining to be recovered at the end of 2005-06 is £44.9 million.
	The timescale for the recovery of deficits by NHS trusts is determined by the statutory breakeven duty, which states that a cumulative deficit must be recovered in the subsequent two years following the first year in which a cumulative deficit position is reported. It is the responsibility of the strategic health authorities (SHA) to work with NHS organisations in their local health economies and agree a recovery plan that phases the recovery of deficits over a number of years. By exception, the SHA can agree an extension to the recovery period to four years in line with an agreed recovery plan. At the end of 2005-06 North Bristol NHS Trust had been in a cumulative deficit position for five years and is therefore in breach of its statutory duty.
	The Department cannot simply write off historical deficits. The Department, and, consequently, the NHS, have to live within an agreed level of resources in each financial year. This level is set by HM Treasury and voted by Parliament. In order for the system as a whole to balance, a deficit in one organisation has to be matched by a surplus elsewhere. Deficits therefore must be repaid so that the resources can be returned to the organisations that generated the offsetting surpluses.

North Bristol NHS Trust

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to announce her decision on the PFI proposal of North Bristol NHS Trust for a new hospital at Southmead; what account she takes of trusts debts when answering such applications; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We anticipate that officials will make an announcement on the progress of this scheme shortly.
	All proposals for private finance initiative schemes are assessed against a variety of criteria in order to ascertain their affordability and fit with the needs of the communities they are to serve. The financial position of the trust concerned and whether it is in deficit or surplus forms part of these considerations.

Nurses

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total average annual cost is of employing a nurse; and what it was in 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The hospital and community health services (HCHS) pay bill per head (FTE) for employing a qualified nurse in 1997-98 and 2004-05 which is the latest available year was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997-08 22,975 
			 2004-05 32,791 
			  Notes: 1. Figures cover all staff and salary costs, including employers' NI and pension contributions. 2. Pay bill per head (FTE) is derived using full-time equivalent staff numbers. Pay bill figures include the "on-costs" of employment. On-costs are estimated using figures in financial returns (these are not broken down by staff group or grade). 3. 2004-05 figures include estimates for foundation trusts. 4. 2004-05 figures include £334 "other" provision, assumed to be for Agenda for Change. 5. Part of the increase between the two years is due to the transfer of responsibility for funding pensions indexation costs to NHS employers, under which employer pensions contributions rose from  7 per cent. to 14 per cent.  Source: These costs are estimated on the basis of data from the national health service trust, primary care trust and strategic health authority financial returns and foundation trust annual reports, together with staff numbers (excluding the cost of agency staff) from the work force census.

Paediatrics

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places are planned for  (a) consultant paediatricians and  (b) staff grade paediatricians for each of the five financial years commencing with 2007-08.

Rosie Winterton: Individual strategic health authorities and deaneries are responsible for planning the medical training posts at local level, taking into account the analysis and recommendations of the work force review team.

Patient and Public Participation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of existing patient and public participation prior to  (a) the abolition of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health and  (b) the other proposed changes in provision.

Rosie Winterton: The decision to abolish the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) was part of the arm's length bodies (ALB) review about reducing bureaucracy and getting more funds to the frontline. Therefore, no assessment was made on existing patient and public participation at that point.
	The Department undertook a major review of patient and public involvement (PPI) during 2005-06. The PPI review was prompted by "Commissioning a Patient-led NHS" and the White Paper "Our health, our care, our say" consultation. The review indicated that the current arrangements were no longer fit for purpose in view of the major structural changes accruing across health and social care.

Public Information Campaigns

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for information campaigns to tackle  (a) obesity,  (b) smoking,  (c) teenage pregnancy,  (d) hepatitis and  (e) sexually transmitted disease.

Caroline Flint: Improving the quality and provision of public services and information is a key Government priority.
	For obesity, the Healthy Living Social Marketing Programme will focus on supporting parents and carers in their role as the primary influences of healthy eating habits in children. The programme was launched at a mass stakeholder event in December 2006 with public facing activity planned for early 2007.
	New campaigns to motivate and support smokers to quit will be launched in the new year and we will be continuing the second-hand smoke education campaign in March 2007.
	A new sexual health campaign, "Condom Essential Wear" was launched on 9 November 2006, targeting 18-24 year olds, and aiming to inform them about the prevalence and invisibility of sexually transmitted infections, and to reduce instances of teenage pregnancies. This is additional to our targeted HIV campaigns for gay men and African communities. The Department also works with the Department for Education and Skills on the "Want Respect? Use a Condom" and "RU Thinking" campaigns for young people and teenagers.
	In addition, the Department is running a national hepatitis C awareness campaign for healthcare professionals and the public in support of the "Hepatitis C Action Plan for England". Information about the prevention and control of hepatitis A and B has been provided to healthcare professionals and the public.

Special Exception Committees

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role special exception committees within primary care trusts have in approving NHS treatments.

Andy Burnham: Primary care trusts (PCTs) must determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations. Each PCT must establish a professional executive committee to exercise particular functions, including to provide advice and assistance to medical practitioners. PCTs are also able to appoint other committees of the trust, but there is no requirement for a special exception committee or other committee to approve national health service treatments.

Special Exception Committees

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts have special exception committees; what  (a) clinical and  (b) financial guidance is given to special exception committees; and by what organisation.

Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect data on how many primary care trusts have such committees and has issued no national guidance on their operation.

Talking Treatments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any measures are being considered to improve access to talking treatments for  (a) black and minority ethnic groups,  (b) refugees and asylum seekers,  (c) people with learning disabilities and a mental health problem,  (d) people in prison,  (e) people with alcohol or other drug dependency problems,  (f) older people,  (g) children,  (h) people with long-term physical health problems and  (i) people in hospital.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to improving mental health services and this is why we support increasing the availability of evidence-based psychological therapies through our programme Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), which was launched in May 2006.
	This programme will initially focus on adults of working age in order to establish the links between the provision of evidence-based psychological interventions and retaining and maintaining people in employment. We will also be addressing the benefit of extending these services to people of all ages as part of the regional psychological therapies programmes led by the Care Services Improvement Partnership, which will complement the two national improving access to psychological therapy (IAPT) demonstration sites.
	The IAPT demonstration sites will provide evidence of the effectiveness of stepped improvements in access to psychological therapies and of the resultant benefits to people's health and well-being, to the efficiency and effectiveness of mental health systems and to the economy as a whole. Building on these foundations over the longer term will be to the benefit of everyone who needs these therapies, whatever their age or circumstances.

Translation Services

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English was in 2005-06.

Ivan Lewis: During 2005-06 the Department spent £186,765.28 translating publications into other languages.

Translation Services

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each primary care trust spent on translation services in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are not required to report their planned or actual spending on interpretation and translation services to the Department. When planning such services, PCTs should take due account of their legal duties, the composition of the communities they serve, and the needs and circumstances of their patients, service users and local populations.
	The Government have established the independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion to look at Government policies and public services and to report in 2007. As part of its brief, the Commission will look at the provision of language services across Government. The Department will fully support the Commission in its work.

Trust Funding Allocations

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average allocation of funding for education and training was within NHS trusts in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: In 2005-06, the Department allocated £3,587 million to the national health service through the multi-professional education and training (MPET) budget. In 2006-07, the Department allocated £3,766 million in the same way.
	MPET allocations are made to strategic health authorities (SHAs) rather than directly to NHS trusts. In 2006-07, the SHAs have received the MPET allocation as part of their overall funding allocation and have managed the investment in education and training according to local priorities.

Turnaround Programme

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the total spent on the turnaround programme at national and strategic health authority (SHA) level is divided between  (a) local baseline assessments,  (b) a national programme office,  (c) one-off local support payments and  (d) SHA turnaround directors.

Andy Burnham: The spend on the turnaround programme is shown as follows:
	Baseline assessment phase one—£1,493,500 (excluding VAT and expenses)
	Baseline assessment phase two—£1,092,400 (excluding VAT and expenses)
	National programme office—average cost of £177,000 per month since February 2006 (excluding VAT and expenses)
	Following the baseline assessment of some of the most financially challenged organisations, 98 were identified and categorised 1 to 4, with category 1 being an immediate priority—urgent intervention required to drive turnaround. The Department contributed £93,000 towards the cost of support in these 26 organisations; and
	Strategic health authority turnaround directors—average cost of £390,000 per month since February 2006 (excluding VAT and expenses).

Volunteer Retention

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she has put in place to try to ensure volunteer retention during the introduction of Local Involvement Networks (LINks); and what national guidelines will be put in place for the appointment of individuals to positions on LINks.

Rosie Winterton: We expect that existing groups, especially patient and public involvement (PPI) forums, should form the basis of local involvement networks (LINks) membership and the starting point for further recruitment. We are very keen that we do not lose the experience and expertise of forum members and members of other established patient, service user and public involvement groups.
	Central guidance will be made available after the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill receives Royal Assent in 2007. This guidance will include advice on LINks membership, but will not be prescriptive. Essentially, the decision to recruit members will remain local. However, we would encourage current patient forum members to transfer their experience and knowledge to LINks and would like them to be a major part in the formation of them.

Waiting Times

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had been waiting more than six months for an NHS operation at an English hospital at the latest date for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: The number of patients at the end of November 2006 waiting more than 26 weeks for admission to an English national health service trust was 892.

War Pensioners

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of war pensioners not being given priority treatment on the NHS for pensionable injuries the Health Services Commissioner has investigated in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not monitor the workload of the Health Services Commissioner, who is entirely independent of the Department, and questions should therefore be addressed directly to the Commissioner.

World Cancer Research Fund

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what grants have been allocated by her Department to the World Cancer Research Fund Ltd.;
	(2)  what  (a) submissions,  (b) papers and (c) correspondence have been received by her Department from the World Cancer Research Fund Ltd.

Rosie Winterton: No departmental grants have been allocated to the World Cancer Research Fund International. The Department received one item of correspondence from their United Kingdom headquarters in September 2006. There is no central record of any other correspondence, submissions or papers having been received from this organisation.

NORTHERN IRELAND

A26

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the daily average volume of traffic using the A26 road between Coleraine and Ballymoney is in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	 Letter from Dr. D M McKibbin, dated 15 January 2007:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a parliamentary question regarding what is the most recent average volume of vehicles per day using the A26 between Coleraine and Ballymoney. As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	By way of background, I should explain that Roads Service collects traffic volume data by means of 270 automatic census points strategically located throughout the Northern Ireland road network. The information is recorded for one week in each quarter during the year and an annual average calculated. The results are published in Roads Service's annual Traffic and Travel Information Report, which presents the traffic volumes in a variety of formats for each site.
	The latest data on the average daily number of vehicles using the A26 between Coleraine and Ballymena is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Location  Average daily flow 
			   Number 
			 A26 Ballymena to Ballymoney, north of M2 19,430 
			 A26 Ballymena to Ballymoney, south-east of Ballymoney 12,740 
			 A26 Ballymoney Bypass 15,480 
			 A26 south-east of Coleraine Ring Road 15,600

Advisers

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  whether there are restrictions on political activity included in the contracts of additional advisers appointed to the main political parties;
	(2)  whether additional advisers appointed to the main political parties are eligible for  (a) support from officials in,  (b) accommodation in property used by and  (c) office facilities provided by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

David Hanson: The four main political parties represented on the Assembly's Programme for Government Committee have been offered additional support under the Financial Assistance to Political Parties Act (NI) 2000 specifically in connection with the substantial work of that Committee. The Assembly scheme determined under the Act provides that those additional advisers shall act in accordance with any guidance issued by the Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Guidance is presently being prepared which will cover the issue of political activity during the Assembly election period.
	I am arranging to place in the Library of the House the letters sent by the Secretary of State to the leaders of the four main parties, which set out details of the facilities that have been offered to them.

Alzheimer's Disease

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used when determining the prescription of Reminyl to patients with Alzheimer's disease on the NHS in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: Reminyl is available on prescription in Northern Ireland following examination and recommendation by a consultant, taking account of evidence-based practice and the needs of the patient. Consultants generally apply a test known as the Mini Mental State Examination which, together with functional and behavioural assessment of the patient, helps inform their decision on the prescription of drugs in individual cases.
	The availability of drugs to treat people with Alzheimer's disease, including Reminyl, is currently being reviewed by my Department in light of the recent NICE technology appraisal on drugs for Alzheimer's disease and the institute's broader clinical guideline on the management of dementia.

ASBOs

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

David Hanson: The relevant authorities have notified the Northern Ireland Office of 29 antisocial behaviour orders being granted in Northern Ireland. The relevant authorities have reported that eight of these orders were made in 2005 and 21 in 2006.
	
		
			  Area  Number of orders 
			 Ards borough council 1 
			 Ballymena borough council 9 
			 Belfast city council 4 
			 Coleraine borough council 2 
			 Craigavon borough council 1 
			 Derry city council 2 
			 Dungannon district council 1 
			 Larne district council 3 
			 Magherafelt district council 1 
			 Newry and Mourne city council 1 
			 Newtownabbey borough council 2 
			 North Down borough council 2 
		
	
	We do not collect data by parliamentary constituency.

Biodiversity

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contribution he expects Northern Ireland to make to the target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 agreed by all the member states during the 2001 EU Summit in Gothenburg; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: Biodiversity is recognised as an issue for all Northern Ireland Departments. They are all currently striving to meet the recommendations of the NI Biodiversity Strategy which include some of the priorities set out in the recent EU Communication on "Halting the loss of Biodiversity by 2010—and beyond" issued in May 2006. Further work is ongoing to incorporate the EU Communication targets into Departmental Biodiversity Action Plans which are being developed as part of the sustainable development strategy implementation plan launched on 26 November.
	Biodiversity is a key aspect of sustainable development and is an integral part of the sustainable development strategy and its implementation plan.

Biodiversity

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made by the Department of the Environment to halt biodiversity loss by 2010 in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: The Department of the Environment has made substantial progress in meeting the objectives of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy, which incorporates many of the EU Communication's priorities. For example, the Environment and Heritage Service has been delivering action plans for species and habitats which have declined or suffered biodiversity loss and require conservation action. This includes the designation and management of statutory designated sites such as Natura 2000 and Areas of Special Scientific Interest.

Biodiversity

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources have been made available to meet the target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010 in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: The Department of the Environment has recently employed a biodiversity officer to assist Departments to devise biodiversity action plans which will incorporate relevant targets set out in the EU Communication "Halting the Loss of Biodiversity by 2010—and beyond". This officer will also offer practical assistance to Departments to embrace nature conservation aspects when undertaking their functions. This stance builds on the continued resourcing for biodiversity elsewhere in Government. This notably includes work being undertaken by the Environment and Heritage Service in designating and managing statutory nature conservation sites, as well as funding a broad range of biodiversity projects and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development funding of agri-environment schemes.
	The DOE, in line with other Departments, will review its current commitments to consider what additional aspects of the EU Communication can be undertaken.

Biodiversity

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what policies he has in place to meet the target to halt biodiversity loss in Northern Ireland by 2010; and whether he plans to introduce additional measures to meet the target.

David Cairns: The Department of the Environment is committed to reviewing the policies and recommendations of the Northern Ireland biodiversity strategy to incorporate the targets included in the EU Communication "Halting the loss of Biodiversity by 2010—and beyond". This review will influence, and be a key component of, the implementation of the priority area of "natural resource protection" identified in the sustainable development strategy.
	The ongoing development and revision of planning policies will continue to contribute to halting the loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been put in place to monitor and evaluate progress towards the target to halt biodiversity loss in Northern Ireland by 2010; and what biodiversity indicators have been adopted.

David Cairns: Progress in achieving the recommendations of the Northern Ireland biodiversity strategy is regularly monitored and an independent progress report is submitted to Government every three years. Any relevant additional targets to be incorporated into this process that flow from the EU Communication "Halting the loss of Biodiversity by 2010—and beyond" will be included in the next progress report, scheduled for September 2008.
	In addition, the EU Communication sets out to develop a small set of "biodiversity headline indicators" by 2007. These indicators, which are currently being considered by devolved administrations within the UK, are intended to inform member states of the effectiveness of key policies and pressures affecting the trends of biodiversity within the EC.

Car Parks

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new pay and display machines were installed in car parks run by the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland between 1 September 2006 and 31 December 2006; and at what cost to the public purse.

David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	 Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 15 January 2007:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding, how many new pay and display machines were installed in car parks run by the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland between 1 September 2006 and 31 December 2006; and at what cost to the public purse.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	I can advise that between 1 September 2006 and 31 December 2006 a total of 70 new pay and display machines were installed in Roads Service car parks at a cost to the public purse of approximately £270,000.

Child Abuse

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Roman Catholic diocesan officials have been  (a) interviewed by the police in Northern Ireland and  (b) charged in relation to withholding evidence of clerical child sex abuse in the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that the information sought is not available in the requested format. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Daisy Hill Hospital

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the provision of pathology services at Daisy Hill hospital, Newry from April 2007 onwards.

Paul Goggins: The Department is currently consulting on the recommendations of a review of clinical pathology laboratory services in Northern Ireland. The report of the review makes 23 recommendations, which aim to ensure the sustainability of high quality laboratory services across Northern Ireland. The recommendations include proposals for reconfiguration of the current service delivery profile. If the recommendations are accepted and implemented, Daisy Hill hospital would provide site-essential, rapid response clinical biochemistry and haematology services 12-hours daily. Out of hours urgent samples would be transferred to the nearest large acute hospital, 24-hour blood transfusion services would be maintained, with out of hours cover from the nearest large acute hospital laboratory, and with electronic release of blood for patients who have previously been cross-matched.
	The consultation period runs until 28 February 2007, following which the responses will be considered and decisions on the future profile of hospital pathology services finalised.

Derry City Centre: Car Parking

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce a permit scheme to exempt residents of Derry city centre from new car-parking restrictions introduced under the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development's contract with NCP.

David Cairns: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	 Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 15 January 2007:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question, if he will introduce a permit scheme to exempt residents of Derry City Centre from new car-parking restrictions introduced under the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development's contract with NCP.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply
	I can advise that currently there is no scheme which allows Roads Service to exempt residents in Derry City Centre from the normal requirements to comply with current parking regulations, other than those that exist within the Pedestrian Zone, to which residents' access is permitted by permit. I can also advise that Roads Service has no plans at present to introduce such a scheme.
	I am sure you will appreciate that waiting restrictions are introduced either to facilitate the safe movement of traffic, or for traffic progression reasons and that permitting residents to park at these locations, during periods when restrictions are in force, would reduce the likelihood of these objectives being achieved.
	Following the recent transfer for parking enforcement from the PSNI to Roads Service, our priority is to use resources to ensure effective and consistent enforcement of current waiting restrictions. In advance of the transfer, a review of waiting restrictions was carried out throughout the city. As a consequence, amendments to some waiting restrictions were introduced to facilitate residents where the restriction was deemed no longer appropriate or necessary. I can also advise that we are considering further changes in the Strand Road area with a view to providing additional space for short term parking. If there is any particular location where you would wish Roads Service to undertake a review of the current restrictions, I would ask you to contact the local traffic engineer, Keith Cradden, telephone 028 7132 1653, who will consider the issue.

Draft Street Works Order

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  whether the Draft Street Works (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order takes account of Targeting Social Need Policy;
	(2)  whether the Water Service will be subject to the requirements of the Draft Street Works (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order.

David Cairns: The Street Works (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 itself will not have any direct cost implications and so it has no impact on either the New Targeting Social Need policy or the Lifetime Opportunities Strategy launched by the Secretary of State on 13 November 2006.
	When the Department is developing future subordinate legislation under the Order, the requirements of the Lifetime Opportunities Strategy will be fully integrated into its considerations.
	With regard to the second question, I can confirm that the provisions of the Order will apply to Northern Ireland Water Ltd. and that, by virtue of Article 269 (2) of the Water and Sewerage Services (NI) Order 2006, it will not be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown and will not have any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown.

Education Boards

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had on identifying a severance package for chief executives of education boards in Northern Ireland following the Review of Public Administration; and what figures are under consideration.

Maria Eagle: Guiding Principles on Voluntary Severance Arrangements for all RPA affected staff are currently being considered by Government, the Public Services Commission, trade union side and the RPA affected organisations. No discussions have taken place to specifically identify severance packages for chief executives of Education and Library Boards. The senior management structure of the Education and Skills Authority has yet to be determined.

Educational Psychology

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children in the Foyle constituency were assessed by an educational psychologist in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Educational psychologists assessed the following numbers of children in the Foyle constituency in the last five years:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001-02 965 
			 2002-03 1,240 
			 2003-04 1,151 
			 2004-05 1,107 
			 2005-06 1,111 
		
	
	The numbers quoted are in respect of the relevant financial years.

Elderly People: Falls

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many elderly people in residential nursing homes in the  (a) private and  (b) public sector in each health board area in Northern Ireland have been recorded as having fallen from beds and chairs and required further medical treatment for their injuries in the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is not available.

Elderly People: Falls

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how often checks were made on residential nursing homes and hospital units in each health board area in Northern Ireland caring for the elderly to ensure best practice in health and safety in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: Under current legislation, which commenced in April 2005, all nursing homes are required to be inspected a minimum of twice in every 12 month period. Prior to this, only voluntary and independent homes were statutorily required to be inspected on the same basis, whilst homes run by Health and Social Services trusts were similarly inspected as a matter of good practice.
	The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority has reported a total of 621 inspections of 172 nursing homes in 2005-06.
	Information on the previous two years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	There is no legislative provision requiring inspections of hospital units.

Elderly People: Falls

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether follow-up checks are made by officials to elderly people who live in the community in Northern Ireland and who are recorded as having had a fall; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Older people who are already within the care of the Health and Personal Social Services have their care needs regularly re-assessed in the light of changing circumstances. Older people not known to the HPSS may be referred, following a fall, to have a multi-disciplinary assessment of their continuing care needs. In addition, there are many schemes across Northern Ireland aimed at preventing falls by older people, through risk assessment and the use of adaptations and equipment.

Environmental Building Standards

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Government are taking to promote higher environmental building standards in publicly funded buildings in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The Government's vision is to see improved standards of building in Northern Ireland which will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases by encouraging energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy technologies. An amendment to the relevant part of the Northern Ireland Building Regulations came into operation on 30 November requiring all building, whether public or private, to demonstrate improved energy performance and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. These requirements, which are continually under review, will be enhanced by implementing provisions of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, which, under new regulations to be introduced next year to promote greater awareness of energy performance, will require the production of an energy performance certificate whenever a building is constructed, sold or rented out.
	The Sustainable Development Strategy for Northern Ireland, which the Secretary of State launched in May 2006, requires the Government estate to be carbon neutral by 2015. Progress towards this objective will be supported by the Achieving Excellence in Construction Initiative, which requires procurement and investment decisions to be based on whole lifecycle costing underpinned by sustainability assessments. Further, from 31 March 2007 all Departments and district councils will be under a statutory duty to act in the way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in Northern Ireland.
	From 2007-08, part of the Government office estate will be managed by a private sector partner under the Workplace 2010 programme. The contract governing this arrangement will stipulate that the buildings involved must meet appropriate standards of energy and environmental management. This will produce a better use of space and increased energy efficiency, resulting in a significant reduction in our carbon footprint.

Equality Commission

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to ensure that the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland has a staff composition approximately in ratio to the community.

David Hanson: The Equality Commission, since its establishment, has been committed to the importance of having a workforce which reflects the community which it serves. The Commission recognises that there is currently an imbalance and therefore has in place an affirmative action plan with a range of initiatives to improve the representation of Protestants within its staff. These include the use of a statement in all job advertisements welcoming members of the Protestant community; contact with schools and third-level educational establishments; contact with and forwarding job vacancy information to community organisations servicing the Protestant community; engagement with representatives and people with influence in the Protestant community. The Commission keeps these measures under review, and will continue to work to reduce all imbalances.

EU Funding

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of EU funding allocated in Northern Ireland in the period 2000 to 2006 has been  (a) spent and  (b) returned.

David Hanson: The following table provides details of the EU allocations and the value of claims submitted in euro—with the percentage of the allocation claimed for each Structural Fund Programme and Community Initiative in Northern Ireland up to the end of December 2006. No amounts have been returned to or decommitted by the European Commission to date. All 2000-06 programmes can continue to spend until December 2008.
	
		
			  Programme/Community Initiative  Total EU allocation (€)  Total EU element declared (€)  Percentage declared  Total EU element returned (€)  Percentage returned 
			 Building Sustainable Prosperity 929,115,400 712,900,222 76.73 0.00 0 
			 Peace II (N.I only) 467,000,000 409,549,085 87.70 0.00 0 
			 Urban II 10,784,515 6,420,456 59.53 0.00 0 
			 Equal 11,896,437 6,966,048 58.56 0.00 0 
			 Leader + 15,689,259 10,469,346 66.73 0.00 0 
			 Interreg IIIA 82,213,093 46,255,818 56.26 0.00 0 
			 Overall total 1,516,698,704 1,192,580,975 78.63 0.00 0

Fertility Counselling

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the additional funding for the enhancement of fertility counselling services announced by the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 17 September has been allocated to the Western Health Board area; and how much the Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety allocated to each health board area for fertility counselling services in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The additional £50,000 per annum was allocated specifically towards improving access to fertility counselling services in Northern Ireland and will be distributed to each of the four Health and Social Services Boards under the agreed capitation formula. Under that formula £8,575 will be allocated to the Western Board.
	The Department has not previously identified specific funding for counselling. Counselling for people attending the regional fertility centre is provided as part of the total funding for fertility services in Northern Ireland.

Fire and Rescue Service

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many training days were delivered at divisional level by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service during 2005-06.

Paul Goggins: The number of student training days delivered at NIFRS divisional level in 2005-06 was 9,273.

Fire and Rescue Service

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many training days were delivered by the Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre at  (a) Boucher Road, Belfast and  (b) Westland Road, Belfast in 2005-06.

Paul Goggins: The number of training days delivered at Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Training Centres in 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			   Days 
			 Boucher Crescent 9,170 
			 Westland Road 1,757 
			 Total 10,927

Fire and Rescue Service

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) work-related and  (b) fire-related injuries were sustained by Northern Ireland firefighters in each year since 2000-01.

Paul Goggins: The following table and associated explanatory notes provides the information requested by the hon. Gentleman.
	
		
			   On-duty injuries to operational personnel  Incident-related injuries  Burn injuries at incidents  Total 
			 2000-01 427 230 14 671 
			 2001-02 402 176 9 587 
			 2002-03 354 140 3 497 
			 2003-04 291 157 7 455 
			 2004-05 239 120 8 367 
			 2005-06 194 70 1 265 
			  Notes:  1. On-duty injuries to operational personnel include the total number of injuries sustained by whole-time or retained personnel. The majority of these fall within the categories of manual handling or slips/trips/falls.  2. Incident-related injuries include injuries that have occurred during the time that an appliance is en-route to an emergency incident, while the appliance is at the incident or while it is returning from the incident.  3. Burn injuries at incidents include burns or scalds that have occurred at emergency incidents.

Fire and Rescue Service

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effect on firefighters' safety of the shortfall in planned real-fire training reported by the Northern Ireland Audit Commission.

Paul Goggins: Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service firefighters are rigorously trained in accordance with UK Fire Service standards at Boucher Crescent Training Centre, Northland Fire Station in Londonderry and Westland Fire Station in Belfast, where NIFRS continues to conduct real fire and breathing apparatus training. In addition, all firefighters are given on-going training throughout their careers. The service is implementing the national integrated personal development system (IPDS) which is a competency-based training programme designed to provide firefighters with the skills required for specific roles.
	NIFRS continually assesses firefighter safety and monitors any reported injury to identify whether lack of training has been a contributory factor.
	The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has also mitigated the shortfall in training reported by the NI Audit Office by implementing other training methods such as simulation training and practical training at local fire station level. NIFRS confidence in the success of these measures is reflected in the year-on-year reduction in firefighter injuries.

GCSEs

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils left  (a) Catholic managed and  (b) other managed schools with (i) less than five GCSEs and (ii) no qualifications in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The requested information is as follows:
	
		
			   Catholic managed  Other managed 
			   Less than 5 GCSEs A*-G  No formal qualifications  Less than 5 GCSEs A*-G  No formal qualifications 
			 2004-05 1,665 462 1,769 411 
			 2003-04 1,945 701 1,687 567 
			 2002-03 (l) n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001-02 1,805 679 1,855 629 
			 2000-01 1,907 657 1,733 563 
			 1999-2000 1,896 493 1,726 406 
			 1998-99 1,908 386 1,766 297 
			 1997-98 2,104 488 1,771 309 
			 1996-97 2,313 529 2,001 400 
			 1995-96( 2) 2,152 248 1,776 149 
			 1994-95 2,304 510 1,831 313 
			 (1) There was no school leavers' survey in 2002-03 because of problems in the software of the schools' Management Information System. (2) Qualifications data are missing for 3 per cent. of the school leavers in 1995-96. The apparent dip in the figures between 1994-95 and 1996-97 needs to be seen in this context.

Gender Equality

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  when he expects to publish his Department's gender equality scheme;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that private organisations contracted to work  (a) in his Department and  (b) for non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which his Department is responsible are aware of their duties under gender equality legislation when exercising public functions on behalf of public bodies;
	(3)  what plans he has to carry out gender impact assessments of his Department's major policy developments and new legislation;
	(4)  what steps he is taking to ensure that  (a) his Department and  (b) the non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which he is responsible are taking steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies (i) to end unlawful discrimination and harassment and (ii) to promote equality between women and men.

Peter Hain: In Northern Ireland section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and regard to the desirability of promoting good relations. These duties ensure that equality issues, including gender, are integral to the whole range of public policy decision making. Public authorities, such as the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), are required to submit Equality Schemes to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and to carry out impact assessments of their policies in certain circumstances.
	The NIO is fully committed to the fulfilment of the section 75 obligations on the promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations. The NIO Equality Scheme, approved by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission in November 2001, sets out how the Department proposed to fulfil those duties with regard to all of its policies and functions. In 2006 the NIO conducted a comprehensive review of the operation of the scheme during its first five years and this report was submitted to the Equality Commission in July 2006.
	Copies of the NIO Equality Scheme and 5 Year Review Report may be found on the Northern Ireland Office website:
	www.nio.gov.uk.

George Bruce Kelso

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what investigation the Eastern Health and Social Services Board conducted into the conduct of dentist George Bruce Kelso.

Paul Goggins: When the Eastern Health and Social Services Board (EHSSB) became aware of concerns about dentist George Bruce Kelso in late 1998 it instigated investigations on two fronts:
	1. The Central Services Agency (CSA) was asked by the Board to profile Mr. Kelso's pattern of treatment claims. This included calling in and checking patient records.
	2. The Referral Dental Service, based in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, was asked to undertake post treatment examinations on a large number of patients for which Mr. Kelso had submitted claims for health service dental treatment.
	The EHSSB assimilated these findings into a case report.

Gershon Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been invested by his Department and its associated public bodies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs have been included in reporting headline efficiency savings; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: Sir Peter Gershon's independent report into public sector efficiency did not require that efficiencies be recorded net of upfront investment costs and the Northern Ireland Office has followed this advice. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Health Service

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of health service staff in Northern Ireland have been  (a) notified of their pay band under Agenda for Change and  (b) assimilated into the new pay structures.

Paul Goggins: At the assimilation stage Health and Personal Social Services payroll departments notify staff of their Agenda for Change pay bands and when they can expect to receive payment. At December 2006,  (a) 48.7 per cent. of health staff affected by Agenda for Change, and  (b) 13.3 per cent. of social services staff, have been notified and assimilated to the new Agenda for Change rates of pay.

Health Service

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) has taken to address concerns expressed by trade unions on the implications of Agenda for Change for health service staff in Northern Ireland; and if the DHSSPS will meet unions to discuss these concerns.

Paul Goggins: The implementation of the Agenda for Change agreement is being taken forward in partnership with Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) employers and recognised trade unions. My Department's officials and representatives from HPSS employers meet on a monthly basis with regional officers from the main health trade unions. I would expect any concerns about the implication of Agenda for Change to be brought to that forum.

Health Service

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision has been made to consult on changes to the  (a) nursing and  (b) midwifery functions at (i) the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and (ii) the Health and Social Services Authority level under the review of public administration.

Paul Goggins: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, wrote to the trade unions and to the Health and Personal Social Services on 14 November 2006 setting out proposals on how the nursing and midwifery functions at the Department and the Health and Social Care Authority could be secured as part of the implementation of the review of public administration.
	A discussion paper is to be issued shortly and no final decision will be made without taking the views of stakeholders fully into account.

Home Carers

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many home carers are employed in the western health and social services board area.

Paul Goggins: While home care may be available from a variety of sources, the Department holds information only on those staff employed within the Northern Ireland health and social services. The number of home care staff employed by trusts in the western health and social services board area is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Home care staff employed within the NI HPSS by trusts in the Western health and social services board area as at 31 December 2006 
			   Grade 
			   Home carer/home care assistant  Home help 
			 Headcount 386 1,274 
			 Whole-time equivalent 177.80 457.45 
			  Notes: 1. Altnagelvin trust, as an acute trust, do not employ home helps. 2. Sperrin Lakeland trust stated that as part of the Home Care Reform Programme a number of home care assistants have been signed up and are awaiting deployment. 3. Figures include staff employed on an "as and when required" basis.  Source: Western Health and Social Services Board Area Trusts

Home Carers

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions patients in the Western Health and Social Services Board area have been detained in hospital because no home carers were available in each of the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The number of occasions patients in the Western Health and Social Services Board area have been detained in hospital because no home carers were available in each of the last 12 months is not available. However, the number of patients who have had their discharge delayed due to "no place or package being available" and who were recorded as being resident in the Western Board area in each of the last 12 months are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Month  Number of delayed discharges due to no available place or package 
			  2005  
			 November 12 
			 December 10 
			  2006  
			 January 9 
			 February 8 
			 March 8 
			 April 6 
			 May <5 
			 June 6 
			 July(1) <5 
			 August(1) <5 
			 September (1) 10 
			 October(1) 7 
			 (1)Information is currently provisional and subject to change.   Notes:  1. Figures are presented in respect of the position at the last day of each month  2. Please note that cell sizes that have a value of less than 5 have been masked in order to help protect confidentiality.   Source:  Departmental Return, DDL.

Hospital Waiting Times

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people had been waiting more than six months for an NHS operation in Northern Ireland at the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: Official waiting lists are produced on a quarterly basis. Information on the number of patients waiting more than six months for in-patient treatment in Northern Ireland hospitals is provided in the following table for the quarters ending December 2005, March 2006, June 2006 and September 2006.
	
		
			  Quarter ending  Number of patients waiting six months and over 
			 December 2005 10,403 
			 March 2006 6,580 
			 June 2006 5,144 
			 September 2006 3,786 
			  Source: Departmental Information return CH1 
		
	
	There is a ministerial commitment that by March 2007 no one will have to wait more than six months for in-patient or daycase treatment.
	Since the end of September 2006 continued progress has been made towards this target and based on provisional performance monitoring information, 2,681 patients were waiting more than six months for in-patient treatment at the end of December 2006—a reduction of approximately 29 per cent. on the position at the end of September 2006.
	Official waiting list figures for in-patient/daycase admission for quarter ending December 2006 will be published on 1 March 2007 and will be available at:
	http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-pubs/stats-hospital_community_statistics.htm#waitinglists.
	A copy of the next waiting list bulletin will be available in the House of Commons Library.

Housing

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will increase the co-ownership housing support limit for first time buyers to reflect the house price rises in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The value limits which apply to the co-ownership scheme were increased in April 2006, and again at the beginning of October, to reflect house price inflation. The Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Association has also been given the flexibility to operate outside the value limits in cases, subject to departmental approval, where there are valid reasons for doing so. The issue of price limits will be considered again in the spring in the context of the annual price limits review and the recommendations of the Independent Review into Housing Affordability.

Legislation: Public Consultation

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times the Government have consulted the public in Northern Ireland on legislation in each of the last five years; and on what pieces of legislation affecting Northern Ireland the Government  (a) consulted and  (b) did not consult.

Peter Hain: My Department seeks to consult the public on Northern Ireland legislation wherever possible. Of the Acts and Orders in Council made since I became the Secretary of State, prior public consultation was carried out on the following:
	 Acts
	Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006
	(in respect of electoral registration, political donations and the devolution of policing and justice functions, which make up the majority of the Act)
	 Orders in Council
	Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 2005
	Drainage (Amendment) (NI) Order 2005
	Company Directors Disqualification (Amendment) (NI) Order 2005
	Insolvency (NI) Order 2005
	Unauthorised Encampments (NI) Order 2005
	Colleges of Education (NI) Order 2005
	Traffic Management (NI) Order 2005
	The Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2005
	The Firearms (Amendment) (NI) Order 2005
	Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) (NI) Order 2005
	Local Government (NI) Order 2005
	Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 2005
	Disability Discrimination (NI) Order 2006
	Safety at Sports Grounds (NI) Order 2006
	Industrial and Provident Societies (NI) Order 2006
	Rates (Capital Values) (NI) Order 2006
	Stormont Estate (NI) Order 2006
	Planning Reform (NI) Order 2006
	Fire and Rescue Services (NI) Order 2006
	Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006
	Education (NI) Order 2006
	Recovery of Health Services Charges (NI) Order 2006
	Water and Sewerage Services (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 2006
	Victims and Survivors (NI) Order 2006
	Rates (Amendment) (NI) Order 2006
	Smoking (NI) Order 2006
	In the same period for a variety of reasons, prior public consultation was not carried out on the following Northern Ireland Acts and Orders in Council:
	 Acts
	Electoral Registration (NI) Act 2005
	Northern Ireland Act 2006
	Northern Ireland (St. Andrews Agreement) Act 2006
	Terrorism (NI) Act 2006
	 Orders in Council
	Budget (No.2) (NI) Order 2005
	Budget (NI) Order 2006
	Budget (No.2) (NI) Order 2006
	Local Government Boundaries (NI) Order 2006
	Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 2006
	Work and Families (NI) Order 2006
	Electricity Consents (Planning) (NI) Order 2006
	The information sought in respect of the remaining three and a half years of the five year period, is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Boundary Commissioners

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedures were used to select the recently appointed Assistant Local Government Boundaries Commissioners for Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: The selection of Assistant Local Government Boundaries Commissioners for Northern Ireland followed the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

Medical Professional Vacancies

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration has been given to filling the medical professional vacancies created when non-European area students leave Northern Ireland after they complete their foundation programme.

Paul Goggins: Vacancies are monitored through the Department's on-going workforce planning mechanism, which includes a review of the medical workforce. Within that review, allowance is made for a net loss of doctors at the early stages of training.
	While the group of doctors referred to may choose not to seek further employment following completion of the foundation programme, there remains a likelihood that opportunities will arise that are not taken up by European economic area doctors. These can be taken up by the group of doctors referred to or by others from outside the EEA.

Ministerial Travel

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to ensure that all flights undertaken by Ministers and officials in his Department are carbon neutral; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The NIO is a participant in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund.
	All carbon emissions from central Government ministerial and official air travel are being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases Certified Emissions Reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.

NCP Contract

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was paid by the Department for Regional Development Roads Service to National Car Parks (NCP) under the contract to enforce car parking restrictions in the most recent period for which figures are available; what performance indicators apply under that contract; how those indicators are  (a) measured and  (b) monitored; and what the maximum annual amount payable to NCP is under the terms of the contract.

David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	 Letter from Dr. D M McKibbin dated 15 January 2007
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a parliamentary question regarding how much was paid by the Department for Regional Development Roads Service to National Car Parks (NCP) under the contract to enforce car parking restrictions in the most recent period for which figures are available; what performance indicators apply under that contract; how those indicators are  (a) measured and  (b) monitored; and what the maximum annual amount payable w NCP is under the terms of the contract.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	I can advise that to date, no payment has been made by Roads Service to National Car Parks Ltd (NCP) in relation to the contract for the operation of parking and enforcement services as no invoice has been submitted.
	Performance measurement and monitoring is on the basis of 31 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which relate to the quality of the service being provided (see Annex A). These KPIs relate to all aspects of work covered by the contract and are not solely related to the enforcement of parking restrictions. They cover such items as the level of deployment of traffic attendants, training, quality of information recorded, car park management and cash collection. There are no KPIs related to the number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued.
	Given the wide scope of the KPIs, different methods are required to measure and monitor performance. For example, deployment levels are measured through payroll records and can be independently monitored from reports produced by Roads Service. Quality of information recorded will be analysed by examining the number of PCNs cancelled due to traffic attendant (TA) error.
	The contract includes for the management of Roads Service's off-street charged car parks and the enforcement of parking restrictions. If NCP provides the appropriate level of service as measured against the KPIs, under the terms of the contract, the maximum annual amount payable to them will be £8,848,698.38. This sum includes the maximum performance related payment, and refers to the full service to be provided by NCP, not just enforcement of parking restrictions.
	 Key Performance Indicators
	 A. Effective Parking Enforcement
	1. Number of TAs deployed.
	2. Number of Supervisors deployed.
	3. Coverage of Patrol requirements,
	4. The availability and responsiveness of the rapid response unit.
	 B. Good quality, motivated and informed TAs
	5. Initial TA training and accreditation.
	6. Regular assessments and delivery of on-going training.
	7. The Standard of TA appearance, courtesy and helpfulness.
	8. The level of complaints and complaints handling,
	9. Level of Absenteeism and staff turnover amongst all TA staff and car park staff.
	 C. Issue of Good Quality PCNs
	10. Number of cancellations due to TA error.
	11. Number of Void PCNs.
	12. Good quality information.
	13. Control of Pocket Books.
	14. Linkage of good quality digital images to PCNs.
	 D. Clamping and Removal Operations
	15. Availability of resources during hours of operation.
	16. Adherence to removals/clamps criteria.
	17. Good quality condition reports including digital images.
	18. Timeliness of releasing clamps handling of requests for priority de-clamping.
	 E. Car Pound Operations
	19. Banking of cash via the car pound.
	20. The availability of staff at the car pound.
	21. Customer Service,
	22. Inventory.
	 F. Full and timely reporting of all defective/missing lines and signs
	23. The prompt reporting of all defects in lines, signs and relevant street furniture.
	 G. Car Park Management
	24. Car Park Management.
	25. Enforcement and Compliance in kiosk car parks.
	26. Car Park Cleanliness and Flower beds and surrounds.
	27. Signs, lines and bay markings are in good condition.
	 H. Procurement, Reporting and Maintenance of Equipment
	28. Maintain all pay and display machines in working condition.
	29. Car park equipment will be maintained and all faults swiftly rectified.
	 I. Cash Collection, Counting and Banking
	30. Cash must be regularly collected, counted and banked from all pay and display machines, 31. Cash must be collected, counted and banked from off street car parks (kiosk and pay on foot) at regular intervals.
	31. Cash must be collected, counted and banked from off street car parks (kiosk and pay on foot) at regular intervals.

Northern Ireland Children's Commissioner

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applicants there were for the post of Northern Ireland Children's Commissioner announced in December 2006.

Maria Eagle: There were 46 applicants for the post of Commissioner for Children and Young People for Northern Ireland.

Police Recruitment

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the  (a) Protestant applicants,  (b) Roman Catholic applicants and (c) non-determined applicants to the police in Northern Ireland were (i) deemed to be suitably qualified and (ii) subsequently appointed.

Paul Goggins: I am advised that, as at 17 November 2006, of the 35,819 applications from a Protestant background, 5,459 reached the pool of suitably qualified candidates; of this number 1,202 have been appointed.
	For the same period, of the 20,326 applications from the Catholic community, 1,967 reached the pool of suitably qualified candidates, 1,219 of which were duly appointed.
	Of the 1,303 applicants for whom community background could not be determined, 71 candidates reached the pool of suitably qualified candidates; of this number 20 applicants were appointed.
	This information includes figures up to campaign 10. Appointments for campaign 11 have not yet commenced.

Prescriptions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 91W, on free prescriptions, what actions were taken against those who claimed to be entitled to free prescriptions without entitlement during 2005-06 but were not successfully prosecuted.

Paul Goggins: The following actions are taken in cases where persons who claim to be entitled to free prescriptions are subsequently found not to be:
	(i) A letter is issued to the person requesting payment of the health charge within 14 days if they accept they were not entitled to a free prescription;
	(ii) If payment is not made within 14 days then a further letter is issued requiring payment of the health charge within 28 days to include a penalty charge of five times the health charge up to a maximum of £100;
	(iii) Where no response is received within 28 days a further letter is issued requiring payment to include the original health charge plus the penalty and a further surcharge of 50 per cent. of the penalty;
	(iv) People who still fail to respond are taken to the Small Claims Court.
	During the 2005-06 financial year, from the sample of claims examined by the Counter Fraud Unit, some 3,202 individuals who had claimed to be entitled to free prescriptions were subsequently found not to be so entitled. Restitution was made in all of these cases.
	The following payments were made by the individuals concerned:
	2,601 paid the relevant statutory prescription charge;
	405 paid the relevant statutory prescription charge and a fixed penalty charge;
	196 paid the relevant statutory prescription charge, a fixed penalty charge and a surcharge.
	During the same period, in addition to the above, 179 cases were referred through the Small Claims Court and the appropriate Court Decree obtained.
	As a result of these and other actions, the overall level of prescription exemption fraud in Northern Ireland has fallen from an estimated £14.7 million in 1999-2000 to £7.6 million in 2005-06. Over the same period, the estimated fraud rate has reduced from 8.14 per cent. to 4.63 per cent. While the level of fraud continues to fall it is still a significant loss, which we intend to reduce further. The introduction of a major IT system, which will provide prescription information (including exemptions claimed by patients) in electronic format, will assist in this task. The new system will enable greater levels of checking and action against those who claim but are not entitled to free prescriptions.

Road Safety

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many road traffic accidents there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and how many in each year involved drivers from outside the UK.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the PSNI that only figures in respect of injury collisions are recorded. Information regarding the number of such traffic collisions is set out in the following table.
	Figures for non injury collisions are not held. Current policy does not require police attendance at non injury or damage only collisions.
	The PSNI have also advised they are unable to provide figures for injury collisions involving drivers resident outside the UK but have provided figures for injury collisions involving a driver who is resident outside Northern Ireland.
	
		
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Injury road traffic collisions in Northern Ireland: 1996 to 2005 
			 Fatal collision 130 136 139 129 149 137 136 128 128 127 
			 Serious collision 1,155 1,137 1,107 1,085 1,275 1,241 1,105 964 895 835 
			 Slight collision 5,808 5,919 6,241 6,348 6,964 6,069 5,543 4,957 4,610 3,985 
			 Total 7,093 7,192 7,487 7,562 8,388 7,447 6,784 6,049 5,633 4,947 
			
			  Injury road traffic collisions involving a driver not resident in Northern Ireland: 2001 to 2005( 1) 
			 Fatal collision n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 9 12 7 11 9 
			 Serious collision n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 41 49 40 28 39 
			 Slight collision n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 192 221 153 175 132 
			 Total n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 242 282 200 214 180 
			 n/a — not available (1) 2001 is the first full year where data are available for drivers who reside outside Northern Ireland  Note: 2006 statistics are unavailable at present as the figures are currently being collated.

Special Needs

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Department of Health plans to produce an inventory of services available for adults with special needs in each health trust area in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: Services are commissioned by the health boards and provided by the trusts to meet the needs of their populations. Health and social services trusts provide a range of services for adults with special needs, including diagnostic and assessment services, family support services, respite services, day care services, befriending schemes, wheelchair services, mental health services, learning disability services and training for staff in collaboration with specialist voluntary organisations.
	As the boundaries controlled by each of the trusts will be changing, an inventory of services available for adults with special needs in each health trust area may be undertaken at a later date.

Statutory Designated Sites

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what  (a) funding and  (b) capacity would be required to ensure 95 per cent. of features on statutory designated sites are in, or approaching, favourable conditions by 2016.

David Cairns: Environment and Heritage Service seeks to secure appropriate land management regimes that will promote favourable conservation of features in Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) through the use of management agreements with owners or occupiers of designated lands. A budget of £550,000 has been allocated for the current financial year for management agreement payments,
	A programme of monitoring that is intended to determine the condition of ASSI features will not be completed until 2008. Consequently, given the lack of comprehensive data, it is not possible to provide the exact information requested.

Statutory Designated Sites

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the public service agreement target published by the Department of the Environment in 2003 to ensure 95 per cent. of features on statutory designated sites are in, or approaching, favourable conditions by 2013 still stands.

David Cairns: I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 324W.

Valuation and Rating

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the presence of  (a) a wind turbine and  (b) solar panels on a domestic property will affect the assessment of its capital value by the Valuation and Lands Agency for rates valuation purposes.

David Hanson: In Northern Ireland the presence of  (a) a wind turbine and  (b) solar panels has not had any effect on the assessed capital value of domestic properties for rating purposes in the recent revaluation.

Valuation and Rating

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many households in Northern Ireland are on the valuation list for domestic rates.

David Hanson: There is currently a total of 717,767 domestic properties listed in the valuation list which includes 2,165 caravans.

Valuation and Rating

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many households in Northern Ireland have a personal financial liability for domestic rates (excluding those on 100 per cent. benefit) under  (a) the 2006-07 domestic rates system and  (b) the new 2007-08 domestic rates system.

David Hanson: The Rate Collection Agency (RCA) is currently implementing an IT replacement billing and revenue collection system. Implementation difficulties currently restrict full access to the information necessary to provide the information requested. An estimate (based on the actual figures just prior to going live in October 2006 and the total for 2005-06) is that 589,000 domestic properties have been assessed as liable for the payment of rates during 2006-07. This excludes those properties where the award of housing benefit covers full rate liability. Actual totals will be available at the end of the financial year.
	Liability to pay rates for 2007-08 will not be assessed until mid-March 2007. I have asked the Agency's chief executive to write to you with the detailed information when it becomes available.

Valuation and Rating

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Valuation and Lands Agency's Automated Valuation Model uses Computer Mass Assisted Appraisal  (a) techniques and  (b) technology.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency's Automated Valuation Model uses Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal  (a) techniques and  (b) technology.

Wind Farms

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2006,  Official Report, column 205W, on wind farms, which businesses were successful in their applications; and where the planned locations are of the successful applications.

David Cairns: The wind farm businesses successful in their planning applications and their planned locations are described in the following table.
	
		
			  Company  Location 
			 WFD(1) Altahullion, County Londonderry 
			 WFD(1) Lough Hill, County Tyrone 
			 WFD(1,2) Callagheen, County Fermanagh 
			 Airtricity Tappaghan, County Fermanagh 
			 Airtricity Bessy Bell 2, County Tyrone 
			 WFD(1) Wolf Bog, Ballymena 
			 Owenreagh Power Partners Owenreagh 2, Strabane 
			 Airtricity Bin Mountain, Strabane 
			 WFD(1) Lough Hill, Omagh 
			 WFD(1) Ext to Altahullion, Limavady 
			 Quinn Group Slieve Rushen, County Fermanagh 
			 (1) WFD = Wind Farm Developments Ltd. (formerly Known as B9 Energy Ltd.). (2 )Permission granted on appeal by the Planning Appeals Commission.